title: HLA class I polymorphism: structure and function and still questions.
abstract: The HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C molecules have turned out to be highly polymorphic and functionally complex. They not only serve as peptide receptors, but also interact with beta 2-microglobulin, an alpha beta T cell receptor, CD8 and NK inhibitory molecules, all at different sites. The fact that more than 300 class I alleles have now been defined prompted us to ask the question of where polymorphism really occurs in a class I molecule. We have used a database of 275 HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-C alleles to illustrate how extensive the polymorphism is. The data is presented here for comparison of alleles and allele families and to facilitate studies of class I structure and function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. ddkk@acpub.duke.edu
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Kostyu
authors.forename: L I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Hannick
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Traweek
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghanayem
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heilpern
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Dawson
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D015236:HLA-C Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; D015236:HLA-C Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I