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Evolution of the major histocompatibility complex: isolation of class II A cDNA clones from the cartilaginous fish.

ABSTRACT: Along with the T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in mounting immune responses to foreign antigen. To gain insights into the evolution of the MHC, class II A cDNA clones were isolated from nurse sharks, a member of the class of cartilaginous fish. Two closely related cDNA clones, which might encode allelic products, were identified; of the three amino acid substitutions found in the alpha 1 domain, two were located at positions postulated to interact with processed peptides. The deduced nurse shark MHC class II alpha chains showed conspicuous structural similarity to their mammalian counterparts. Isolation of cDNA clones encoding typical MHC class II alpha chains was unexpected since no direct evidence for T-cell-mediated immune responses has been obtained in the cartilaginous fish. The cartilaginous fish is phylogenetically the most primitive class of vertebrates from which any MHC gene has been isolated.

SUBMITTER: Kasahara M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC49568 | biostudies-other | 1992 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Evolution of the major histocompatibility complex: isolation of class II A cDNA clones from the cartilaginous fish.

Kasahara M M Vazquez M M Sato K K McKinney E C EC Flajnik M F MF

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 19920801 15

Along with the T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a key role in mounting immune responses to foreign antigen. To gain insights into the evolution of the MHC, class II A cDNA clones were isolated from nurse sharks, a member of the class of cartilaginous fish. Two closely related cDNA clones, which might encode allelic products, were identified; of the three amino acid substitutions found in the alpha 1 domain, two were located at positions postula ...[more]

PMID: 1495958

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Project description:Sirenians share with cetaceans and pinnipeds several convergent traits selected for the aquatic lifestyle. Living in water poses new challenges not only for locomotion and feeding but also for combating new pathogens, which may render the immune system one of the best tools aquatic mammals have for dealing with aquatic microbial threats. So far, only cetaceans have had their class II Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) organization characterized, despite the importance of MHC genes for adaptive immune responses. This study aims to characterize the organization of the marine mammal class II MHC using publicly available genomes. We located class II sequences in the genomes of one sirenian, four pinnipeds and eight cetaceans using NCBI-BLAST and reannotated the sequences using local BLAST search with exon and intron libraries. Scaffolds containing class II sequences were compared using dotplot analysis and introns were used for phylogenetic analysis. The manatee class II region shares overall synteny with other mammals, however most DR loci were translocated from the canonical location, past the extended class II region. Detailed analysis of the genomes of closely related taxa revealed that this presumed translocation is shared with all other living afrotherians. Other presumptive chromosome rearrangements in Afrotheria are the deletion of DQ loci in Afrosoricida and deletion of DP in E. telfairi. Pinnipeds share the main features of dog MHC: lack of a functional pair of DPA/DPB genes and inverted DRB locus between DQ and DO subregions. All cetaceans share the Cetartiodactyla inversion separating class II genes into two subregions: class IIa, with DR and DQ genes, and class IIb, with non-classic genes and a DRB pseudogene. These results point to three distinct and unheralded class II MHC structures in marine mammals: one canonical organization but lacking DP genes in pinnipeds; one bearing an inversion separating IIa and IIb subregions lacking DP genes found in cetaceans; and one with a translocation separating the most diverse class II gene from the MHC found in afrotherians and presumptive functional DR, DQ, and DP genes. Future functional research will reveal how these aquatic mammals cope with pathogen pressures with these divergent MHC organizations.

Dataset Information

Evolution of the major histocompatibility complex: isolation of class II A cDNA clones from the cartilaginous fish.

Publications

Evolution of the major histocompatibility complex: isolation of class II A cDNA clones from the cartilaginous fish.

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