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Abstract

The human MHC spans about 4 million base pairs (4 Mbp) of DNA at chromosome position 6p21.3 and is one of the most intensively studied regions of the human genome, containing over 70 known genes (Klein 1986). The MHC can be conveniently divided up into three regions: the class I sequences at the telomeric end of the complex; the class II loci at the centromeric end; and, between these, the class III genes including those for the complement components C2, C4 and Bf (Trowsdale and Campbell 1988). Accurate physical maping using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) has revealed long stretches of DNA between the regions and between individual class I and class II loci. New genes have recently been found in these areas, genes that have no sequence relationship with class I, class II or complement components.

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Trowsdale, J., Hanson, I. (1993). MHC Genes. In: Solheim, B.G., Ferrone, S., Möller, E. (eds) The HLA System in Clinical Transplantation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77506-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77506-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-77508-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-77506-2

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