The evaluation of histo-blood group ABO typing by flow cytometric and PCR-amplification of specific alleles analyses and their application in clinical laboratories

ABO antigens are oligosaccharide antigens, and are widely distributed on red blood and tissue cells as well as in saliva and body fluid. Therefore, these antigens are important not only for blood transfusion, but also for tissue cell and organ transplantations. Also, blood, hair, and seminal fluid are important sources of evidence at crime scenes, and these antigens are some of the most important markers for personal identification in forensic investigations. Here, we describe the development and use of quantitative analysis of A, B, and H antigens on red blood cells by employing flow cytometric analysis and the ABO genotyping method based on PCR-amplification of specific alleles (PASA) within DNA, especially from blood and saliva. In this study, flow cytometric analysis could be used to compare the differences between the expression of A and/or B and H antigens on red blood cells with various phenotypes, and the PASA method was able to determine the genotype of the type cisA2B3 pedigree using only DNA extracted from saliva. These analysis methods are simple and useful for judging the ABO blood group system and genotyping, and are used widely throughout research and clinical laboratories and forensic fields.