HLA-C Antibody

Background:

HLA-C belongs to the HLA class I heavy chain paralogues.This class I molecule is a heterodimer consisting of a heavy chainand a light chain (beta-2 microglobulin). The heavy chain isanchored in the membrane. Class I molecules play a central role inthe immune system by presenting peptides derived from endoplasmicreticulum lumen. They are expressed in nearly all cells. The heavychain is approximately 45 kDa and its gene contains 8 exons. Exonone encodes the leader peptide, exons 2 and 3 encode the alpha1 andalpha2 domain, which both bind the peptide, exon 4 encodes thealpha3 domain, exon 5 encodes the transmembrane region, and exons 6and 7 encode the cytoplasmic tail. Polymorphisms within exon 2 andexon 3 are responsible for the peptide binding specificity of eachclass one molecule. Typing for these polymorphisms is routinelydone for bone marrow and kidney transplantation. Over one hundredHLA-C alleles have been described