Major histocompatibility complex DQA1 nucleotide sequences of gelada baboon (Theropithecus gelada), olive baboon (Papio anubis), and yellow baboon

• Published in: Immunogenetics (New York) 1997, Vol.46 (4), p.365-366
• Main Authors: Mwenda, J M, Takenaka, O, Kim, H S, Yamamoto, T, Gurja, B, Katsumata, Y, Bambra, C S, Uchihi, R, Shotake, T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alleles; Animals; Chromosome Mapping; DNA; HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; HLA-DQ Antigens - genetics; Major Histocompatibility Complex; Molecular Sequence Data; Papio - genetics; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sequence Alignment
• ISSN: 0093-7711; 1432-1211
• DOI: 10.1007/s002510050289

Non-human primates provide valuable models to investigate the causes of human diseases, to test candidate vaccines against infectious pathogens, and to evaluate the efficacy of fertility regulating agents. Understanding the characteristics of the primate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) may be critical in the interpretation of results of vaccine trials and investigations of possible associations between MHC and disease. Routine typing of primate MHC alleles has been hampered by the unavailability of specific immunological reagents and allele-specific oligonucleotide probes. Hence, there is a need to generate adequate nucleotide sequence information that can be used to design polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques for the typing of primate MHC alleles. Among the primates, MHC-DQA1 of gorilla, chimpanzee, and rhesus macaques have been well characterized. In the present study, genomic DNA was isolated from ten baboons (Papio anubis N = 5, Papio cynocephalus N = 2, Theropithecus gelada N = 2, Papio hamadryas N = 1) and the polymorphic second exon of the DQA1 locus was amplified using GH26 and GH27 PCR primers.