title: Characterization of the MHC class I-related MR1 locus in nonhuman primates.
abstract: We characterized the MHC-related 1 ( MR1) locus in two nonhuman primates species, Pongo pygmaeus and Pan troglodytes. MR1 cDNA sequences encoding several isoforms generated through alternative splicing were observed in both species. Amino acid alignment between the five species in which MR1 has been characterized to date - human, chimpanzee, orangutan, mouse, and rat - reveals a very high degree of conservation specially in the alpha1 and alpha2 domains of the molecule. The main differences concentrate in the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. In the three primates species there is a lysine residue inside the putative transmembrane domain which is not present in rodents. Furthermore, the MR1 cytoplasmic region is longer in rodents, with a conserved serine-containing motif that could be involved in endocytosis; remarkably, this motif is absent in the three primate species. We also describe the presence in the chimpanzee of a sequence homologous to the MR1P1 pseudogene previously found in humans.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Inmunología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Parra-Cuadrado
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gómez del Moral
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: García-Pavía
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Setién
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez-Naves
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I / Q000235:genetics*; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011148:Pongo pygmaeus / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; C094840:MR1 protein, human; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; C490628:Mr1 protein, mouse; C490627:Mr1 protein, rat