title: Primordial linkage of β2-microglobulin to the MHC.
abstract: β2-Microglobulin (β2M) is believed to have arisen in a basal jawed vertebrate (gnathostome) and is the essential L chain that associates with most MHC class I molecules. It contains a distinctive molecular structure called a constant-1 Ig superfamily domain, which is shared with other adaptive immune molecules including MHC class I and class II. Despite its structural similarity to class I and class II and its conserved function, β2M is encoded outside the MHC in all examined species from bony fish to mammals, but it is assumed to have translocated from its original location within the MHC early in gnathostome evolution. We screened a nurse shark bacterial artificial chromosome library and isolated clones containing β2M genes. A gene present in the MHC of all other vertebrates (ring3) was found in the bacterial artificial chromosome clone, and the close linkage of ring3 and β2M to MHC class I and class II genes was determined by single-strand conformational polymorphism and allele-specific PCR. This study satisfies the long-held conjecture that β2M was linked to the primordial MHC (Ur MHC); furthermore, the apparent stability of the shark genome may yield other genes predicted to have had a primordial association with the MHC specifically and with immunity in general.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. yota@som.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiina
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Lohr
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hosomichi
authors.forename: Toni I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Pollin
authors.forename: Edward J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Heist
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoko
authors.forename: Martin F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Flajnik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I / Q000276:immunology*; D005802:Genes, MHC Class II / Q000276:immunology*; D008040:Genetic Linkage / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009893:Opossums; D010802:Phylogeny; D051381:Rats; D012754:Sharks / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin