MOTIVATION Accurate identification of peptides binding to specific Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II (MHC-II) molecules is of great importance for elucidating the underlying mechanism of immune recognition, as well as for developing effective epitope-based vaccines and promising immunotherapies for many severe diseases. Due to extreme polymorphism of MHC-II alleles and the high cost of ...

Twenty-three sequence haplotypes spanning the boundary of the second exon and intron of a red-winged blackbird Mhc class II B gene, Agph-DAB1, are presented. The polymorphism of the exon segment is distributed in two divergent allelic lineages which appear to be maintained by balancing selection. The silent nucleotide diversity of the exon (pi = 0.101) is more than five times that of the intron...

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha gene lies within the class III region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), telomeric to the class II and centromeric to the class I region. We have recently described the first polymorphism within the human TNF-alpha locus. This is biallelic and lies within the promoter region. Frequency analysis of the TNF-alpha polymorphism, using the polymerase...

The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) c~ gene lies within the class III region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), telomeric to the class II and centromeric to the class I region. We have recently described the first polymorphism within the human TNF-ct locus. This is biallelic and lies within the promoter region. Frequency analysis of the TNF-o~ polymorphism, using the polymerase chain re...

To explore the involvement and regulation of the nonmuscle myosin II heavy chains isoforms, MHC-A and MHC-B in the chemotaxis of metastatic tumor cells, we analyzed the changes in phosphorylation and cellular localization of these isoforms upon stimulation of prostate tumor cells with epidermal growth factor (EGF). EGF stimulation of prostate tumor cells resulted in transient increases in MHC-A...

The loci of the vertebrate major histocompatibility complex encode cell-surface glycoproteins that present peptides to T cells. Certain of these loci are highly polymorphic, and the mechanisms responsible for this polymorphism have been intensely debated. Four independent lines of evidence support the hypothesis that MHC polymorphisms are selectively maintained: (a) The distribution of allelic ...

The murine class I molecule H-2Kb and its natural gene conversion variant, H-2Kbm8, which differs from H-2Kb solely at 4 aa at the bottom of the peptide-binding B pocket, are expressed in coisogenic mouse strains C57BL/6 (B6) and B6.C-H-2bm8 (bm8). These two strains provide an excellent opportunity to study the effects of Mhc class I polymorphism on the T cell repertoire. We recently discovered...

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a multi-copy immune gene family in vertebrates. Its genes are highly variable and code for antigen-presenting molecules. Characterization of MHC different species investigating the mechanisms that shape diversity an important goal understanding evolution biological diversity. Here we developed next-generation sequencing (NGS) protocol to genotype cl...