Currently, there are two major blood group classification systems. There are ABO blood group and Rh blood group.
However, these two types are based on RBC surface antigen.
I have two questions.
(1) Does white blood cells or platelet also contain antigen on their cell surface?
(2) If yes, will this contribute to immune rejection during blood transfusion?
Dear Alex
Blood group of an individual is determined by the expression of one or more antigens on red cells that belong to the ABO/Rh system (together with other red cell antigen systems). White cells and platelets also express a variety of antigens but their expression doesn't affect an individual's blood group.
Regards
Siva
Siva, thanks for your answer.
However, this is a very interesting question.
WBC and platelet also express a variety of antigens. However, it doesn't affect an individual' s blood group. That implies the antigens on WBC and platelet won't trigger any immune response. So, basically human only use antigens on RBC to classify different blood group.
How can this happen?
Dear Alex
RBCs follows ABO & Rh blood group system because they are un-nucleated cells. Though WBCs and platelets express these antigens but not trigger any immune response.
Hi Alex,
both leukocyte surface antigens (HLA, human leukocyte antigens) and platelet surface antigens (HPA) can and do induce formation of alloantibodies, which can be clinically significant. In practice it doesn't come up nearly as often as antibodies against RBC antigens - in part because you can't find what you're not even looking for and we screen widely for antibodies against RBC antigens before every transfusion, but look for the others only on rare occasions. But when they do come up, it can be very dramatic (for example, transfusion-associated lung injury and fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia).
Dear Alex, blood group systems are not of uniform biology especially in their expression pattern and how our immune system responds to them. For example, ABO blood group antigens are expressed by the vascular endothelium and that is why they are important in solid organ transplant rejection; Rh blood group antigens contrarily are expressed exclusively by the cells of the erythroid lineage. White blood cells and platelets have antigens that can affect the success of blood transfusion examples are the Human leukocyte antigen (I &II), Human platelet antigens, etc. Among sensitized individuals, incompatibility in any of these antigens can precipitate immune nonhemolytic transfusion reactions such as Transfusion related acute lung injury (TRALI), Febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reaction, alloimmune thrombocytopenia et Cetra.
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