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

• DOI: 10.1007/s00251-010-0481-9
• Publication Date: 2010-09-29T07:36:13Z
• Authors: Melisa L. Budde; Roger W. Wiseman; Julie A. Karl; Bozena Hanczaruk; Birgitte B. Simen; David H. O’Connor
• Keywords: Macaca fascicularis; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Haplotypes; Animals; Genes, MHC Class I; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Cloning, Molecular

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.