Mapping of the Human Major Histocompatibility Complex by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis

  • Ian Dunham
  • Carole A. Sargent
  • John Trowsdale
  • R. Duncan Campbell

Abstract

Genetic analysis of recombinant HLA haplotypes in family studies has established that the class I loci (HLA-A, -B, and -C) lie telomeric to the class II (HLA-D) loci. Located between HLA-DR and HLA-B are the class III genes, encoding the serum complement proteins C2, Factor B, C4A and C4B as well as two copies of the steroid 21-hydroxylase (21-OHase) gene (1,2). The orientation and exact location of these genes relative to the class I and class II genes has not been determined due to the absence of informative recombination events. By a combination of cosmid walking and genomic mapping using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) (3,4) we have derived a map of ~ 3800 kb of DNA covering the HLA region. This has allowed the position and orientation of the complement genes in the class III region to be defined, the C2 gene being telomeric to the C4 gene. In addition, the positions of the TNFα and β genes within the HLA region have been determined. They lie ~ 390 kb telomeric of the C2 gene and ~ 250 kb centromeric of the HLA-B locus.

Keywords

Complement Gene Human Major Histocompatibility Complex TNFa Gene Serum Complement Protein Single Restriction Enzyme Digest 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Abbreviations

PFGE

pulsed field gel electrophoresis

HLA

human leukocyte antigen

MHC

major histocompatibility complex

TNF

tumour necrosis factor

kb

kilobase

21-OHase

steroid 21-hydroxylase.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1989

Authors and Affiliations

  • Ian Dunham
    • 1
  • Carole A. Sargent
    • 1
  • John Trowsdale
    • 2
  • R. Duncan Campbell
    • 1
  1. 1.MRC Immunochemistry Unit, Department of BiochemistryUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
  2. 2.Imperial Cancer Research FundLondonUK

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