Analysis of cDNA Coding MHC Class II .BETA. Chain of The Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).

Abstract

The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes, Patr) is the closest zoological living relative of humans and shares approximately 98.6% genetic homology to human beings. Although major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a critical role in T cell-mediated immune responses in vertebrates, the information on Patr MHC remains at a relatively poor level. Therefore, we attempted to isolate Patr MHC class II genes and determine their nucleotide sequences. The cDNAs encoding Patr MHC class II DP, DQ and DR beta chains were isolated from the cDNA library of a chimpanzee B lymphocyte cell line Bch261. As a result of screening, the clone 6-3-1 as a representative of Patr DP clone, clone 30-1 as a Patr DQ clone, and clones 4-7-1 and 55-1 having different sequences as Patr DR clones were detected. The clone 6-3-1 consisted of 1,062 nucleotides including an open reading frame (ORF) of 777 bp. In the same way, clone 30-1 consisted of 1,172 nucleotides including ORF of 786 bp, clones 4-7-1 and 55-1 consisted of 1,163 nucleotides including ORF of 801 bp. Except for five nucleotide changes, clones 4-7-1 and 55-1 were the same sequence. By comparison with the nucleotide sequences already reported on chimpanzee MHC class II beta 1 genes, clones 6-3-1, 30-1, 4-7-1 and 55-1 were classified as PatrDPB1*16, PatrDQB1*0302, PatrDRB1*0201 and PatrDRB1*0204, respectively. This is the first report to describe complete cDNA sequences of Patr DP and DQ molecules. The nucleotide sequence data of Patr MHC class II genes obtained in this study will be useful for the genotyping of Patr MHC class II genes in individual chimpanzees.

Comprehensive characterization of MHC class II haplotypes in Mauritian cynomolgus macaques

“…Additionally, three DRA and nine DRB alleles were identified and there was some sharing of these alleles between haplotypes ( Figure 1). By comparing these new alleles to previously described MHC class II alleles in other primate species (Das et al 1983;Auffray et al 1984;Wake 1986;Todd et al 1987;Hatta et al 2002), we could predict their domain structure ( Figure 1). As seen in Figure 1, most of the sequence variation is found in the alpha 1 or beta 1 domains that correspond essentially to exon 2 of each allele.…”

Sequence analysis of the MHC class II DPB1 gene in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

“…1a and b). The primer pair (DPB‐E1+ and DPB‐E3–) was designed using a chimpanzee DP cDNA clone as previously described (Hatta et al ., 2002).…”

Identification and analysis of MHC class II DRB1 (Patr‐DRB1) alleles in chimpanzees

“…In order to determine a specific primer pair which amplifies exon 2 in each Patr-DRB1 allele, 8-kb polymerase chain reaction (PCR) covering the area from exon 1 to exon 3 on the DRB1 gene was performed using the genomic DNA of Sanzou and Iyo (Figure 2A,B). The primer pair (DRB-E1þ and DRB-E3-) was designed from a Patr-DR cDNA clone as previously described (19). The reaction mixture contained 0.25 U of LA Taq polymerase (Takara, Kyoto, Japan), 2.5 mM dNTP, 2.5 mM MgCl 2 , 4 mM of each primer, and 2 ml of DNA template.…”