title: Population of the HLA ligand database.
abstract: We have established an HLA ligand database to provide scientists and clinicians with access to Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I and II motif and ligand data. The HLA Ligand Database is available on the world wide web at http://hlaligand.ouhsc.edu and contains ligands that have been published in peer-reviewed journals. HLA peptide datasets prove useful in several areas: ligands are important as targets for various immune responses while algorithms built upon ligand datasets allow identification of new peptides without time-consuming experimental procedures. A review of the HLA class I ligands in the database identifies strengths and deficiencies in the database and, therefore, the utility of the dataset for identifying new peptides. For instance, 212 HLA-A phenotypes exist of which 23 have a motif determined and 43 have peptides characterized. In terms of number of ligands, HLA-A*0201 has 258 characterized ligands, A*1101 has 25 peptides, while the remaining two-thirds of the HLA-A phenotypes have less than 10 associated peptide sequences. Characterization of ligands and motifs remains roughly the same at the HLA-B locus while the peptides of the HLA-C locus tend to be less characterized. These data show that 74% of HLA class I molecules do not have ligands represented in the database and thus algorithms based on the dataset could not predict ligands for a majority of the US population. Building upon this dataset and knowledge of HLA allelic frequencies, it is possible to plan a systematic expansion of the HLA class I ligand database to better identify ligands useful throughout the population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sathiamurthy
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Hickman
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Cavett
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zahoor
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prilliman
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Metcalf
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernandez Vina
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Hildebrand
mesh_terms: D030562:Databases, Protein; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008024:Ligands; D012985:Software Design
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D008024:Ligands