Genetic variants in the repeat region of MHC class I for miniature pig (Brief Report)
Abstract. Recently, miniature pigs have been issued for xenotransplantation studies (CHARON et al. 2000) to verify what major factors are critical matters for immune responses in human. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) knowing for high rate of mutations and responsible for systematic immune responses is essential to understand swine immunology. Numerous studies have documented the influence of swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) genes on immune responses, organ and cell transplantation success and disease resistance (SMITH et al. 2004). The satellite region in MHC can be used to identify individuals as well as breeds, and it is important to characterize and breed unique miniature pig lines for supporting organ transplantation studies. Up to the present moment, genetic variants including repeat units (CA14-20) located between the SLA-1 and SLA-5 genes are available with GenBank acc. no. AJ131112, AP009559, AP009558, AP009556, AP009555, and CU311184, but miniature pigs have not been reported.
