THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE OF HLA-A32 SUGGESTS A REGION INVOLVED IN FORMATION OF THE BW4/BW6 EPITOPES

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  • 1 December 1986
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 137  (11) , 3671-3674
Abstract
All HLA-B locus molecules have either the Bw4 or Bw6 epitopes. In addition, the Bw4 epitope is found on HLA-Aw23, Aw24, and A32, and Bw6 is also found on HLA-Cw3. The structural basis for these determinants and the evolution of their distribution among products of the HLA-B locus has been a long standing puzzle. To identify residues that may be involved in these determinants, we have cloned a gene for A32 and sequenced the protein encoding exons. Comparison of the predicted protein sequence with other HLA-A,B,C sequences identified residues 79 through 83 of the .alpha.1 domain as having a pattern of polymorphic substitution that correlates with the presence and absence of the Bw4 and Bw6 epitopes.