Antibodies to neutrophil antigens can cause neonatal alloimmune neutropenia, autoimmune neutropenia, febrile transfusion reactions, and transfusion-related acute lung injury. Several neutrophil antigen systems have been described serologically, but only the human neutrophil antigen-1 (HNA-1) or NA and HNA-2 or NB systems have been well characterized biochemically and molecularly. HNA-1 antigens are located on FcgammaRIIIb, CD16. HNA-2 antigens are located on 58- to 64-Kd glycoprotein, CD177, and are encoded by a gene on chromosome 19 that belongs to the Ly-6 family. The function of the CD177 is not known, but the CD177 gene is highly homologous to a gene overexpressed in neutrophils from patients with polycythemia rubra vera called PRV-1. New polymorphisms in these antigen systems are still being described, but the complete understanding of these neutrophil antigen systems has been slow because of the complexity of these genes.
Copyright 2002 by W.B. Saunders Company