Characterization of Mauritian cynomolgus macaque major histocompatibility complex class I haplotypes by high-resolution pyrosequencing

• Published in: Immunogenetics (New York) Vol. 62; no. 11-12; pp. 773 - 780
• Main Authors: Budde, Melisa L, Wiseman, Roger W, Karl, Julie A, Hanczaruk, Bozena, Simen, Birgitte B, O'Connor, David H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01.12.2010; Springer-Verlag; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Allergology; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brief Communication; Cell Biology; Cloning; Cloning, Molecular; Cynomolgus; Gene Function; Genes, MHC Class I; Genomes; Haplotypes; Human Genetics; Immunology; Macaca; Macaca fascicularis - genetics; Macaca fascicularis - immunology; Macaca fasicularis; Mauritian cynomolgus macaque; MHC; Monkeys & apes; Primates; Pyrosequencing; Sequence Analysis, DNA; United States > US; MHC; Mauritian cynomolgus macaque; Pyrosequencing
• ISSN: 0093-7711; 1432-1211
• DOI: 10.1007/s00251-010-0481-9

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alleles of nonhuman primates have been associated with disease susceptibility, resistance, and resolution. Here, using high-resolution pyrosequencing, we characterized MHC class I transcripts expressed in Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCM), a nonhuman primate population with restricted MHC diversity. Using this approach, we identified 67 distinct MHC class I transcripts encoded by the seven most frequent MCM MHC class I haplotypes, 40 (60%) of which span the complete open reading frames. These results double the number of MHC class I sequences previously defined by cloning and Sanger sequencing of cDNA-PCR products and provide a rapid, high-throughput, and economical method for MHC characterization. Overall, this approach significantly expanded our knowledge of MCM haplotypes and will facilitate future studies on disease pathogenesis and protective cellular immunity.