Co-evolution of the MHC class I and KIR gene families in rhesus macaques: ancestry and plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Researchers dealing with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and killer immunoglobulin receptor (KIR) multi-gene families in humans are often wary of the complex and seemingly different situation that is encountered regarding these gene families in Old World monkeys. For the sake of comparison, the well-defined and thoroughly studied situation in humans has been taken as a reference. In macaques, both the major histocompatibility complex class I and KIR gene families are plastic entities that have experienced various rounds of expansion, contraction, and subsequent recombination processes. As a consequence, haplotypes in macaques display substantial diversity with regard to gene copy number variation. Additionally, for both multi-gene families, differential levels of polymorphism (al

SUBMITTER: de Groot NG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4544828 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature