Head of the laboratory- Ekaterina G. Khamaganova, Doctor of Biological Sciences
The laboratory functions as part of the Department of Tissue Typing.
The Laboratory of Tissue Typing was established in December 2017.
OBJECTIVES OF THE LABORATORY
- Performing DNA typing of genes of the main histocompatibility complex (HLA) in patients of the NMRC for Hematology in need of transplantation of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells (allo-HSCT), and their potential related and unrelated donors.
- Creation of a database of HLA-typed unrelated bone marrow donors/hematopoietic stem cells of the NMRC for Hematology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
- Performing HLA typing of persons who have expressed their intention to become bone marrow and (or) hematopoietic stem cell donors and have applied for inclusion in the Federal Register.
Currently, allo-HSCT is an integral part of program therapy for many patients with oncological and non-oncological diseases of the blood system. Selection of donors for allo-HSCT is based on the results of HLA genotyping of the patient and potential donors. No more than a quarter of patients in need of allo-HSCT have an HLA-identical related donor. For all other patients, it is necessary to search for an unrelated HLA-compatible donor.
The database of voluntary, anonymous, gratuitous bone marrow/hematopoietic stem cell donors of the Russian Ministry of Health has been in existence since 2015 and as of April 2023 includes more than 17,000 HLA-genotyped donors, of which about half are HLA-typed using next-generation sequencing with high resolution for all polymorphic classical HLA genes. Numerous bone marrow/hematopoietic stem cell donations have been made from donors of the NMRC for Hematology’s database to patients from different Russian clinics. The NMRC for Hematology’s donors are included in the Federal Register of Bone Marrow and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donors.
KEY EMPLOYEES
Elena P. Kuzminova – senior researcher, Candidate of Biological Sciences (2013). Elena Kuzminova graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Chelyabinsk State University and then completed her postgraduate studies at the same university. She has been working at the NMRC for Hematology of the Ministry of Health of Russia since 2013. She actively participates in the creation of the database of unrelated bone marrow donors/hematopoietic stem cells of the NMRC for Hematology. Her research interests include the study of immunogenetic profiles of various Russian populations. Kuzminova is a member of the European Federation of Immunogenetics (EFI).
Evgeny A. Leonov – doctor of clinical and laboratory diagnostics, Candidate of Biological Sciences (2022). Evgeny Leonov graduated from the Medical and Preventive Faculty of the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (2016). He completed his residency at the NMRC for Hematology of the Ministry of Health of Russia in the specialty clinical and laboratory diagnostics in 2018 and his postgraduate studies in 2022. Candidate of Biological Sciences (2022). Research interests – sequencing of HLA genes, identification of new HLA alleles.
