David A Rhodes, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Cambridge, UK
Published online: September 2005
DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0005171
The major histocompatibility complex has been studied in depth because it is associated with more human disorders than any other region of comparable size in the human genome. In addition to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, the MHC contains a diverse array of polymorphic genes, many of which are involved in modulating the immune response to pathogens.
Keywords: human leucocyte antigen; major histocompatibility complex; polymorphism; autoimmunity; antigen presentation
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Figure 1. Gene map of the human MHC, showing the context and organization of the polymorphic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene loci.
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| References | |
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| Further Reading | |
| Beck S and Trowsdale J (2000) The human major histocompatibility complex: lessons from the DNA sequence. Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics 1: 117–137. | |
| Cresswell P, Bangia N, Dick T and Diedrich G (1999) The nature of the MHC class I peptide loading complex. Immunology Review 172: 21–28. | |
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| Web Links | |
| ePath MHC-Linked Diseases. MHC Resequencing Project http://www.sanger.ac.uk/HGP/Chr6/MHC/diseases.shtml | |
| ePath HFE (hemochromatosis); LocusID: 3077. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=3077 | |
| ePath HLA-E (major histocompatibility complex, class I, E); LocusID: 3133 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=3133 | |
| ePath MIC-A (MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A); LocusID: 4276 LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=4276 | |
| ePath HFE (hemochromatosis); MIM number: 235200 OMIM: http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?235200 | |
| ePath HLA-E (major histocompatibility complex, class I, E); MIM number: 143010. OMIM: http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?143010 | |
| ePath MIC-A (MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A); MIM number: 600169. OMIM: http://www3.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?600169 | |
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