Identification of 32 major histocompatibility complex class I alleles in African green monkeys

The African green monkey may be an ideal replacement for the rhesus monkey in biomedical research, but relatively little is known about the genetic background of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. In analysis of 12 African green monkeys, 13 Chae-A and 19 Chae-B alleles were identified. Among these alleles, 12 Chae-A and 9 Chae-B were new lineages. The full amino acid length deduced for Chae-A genes is 365 amino acids, but for Chae-B genes, the lengths are 365, 362, 361, and 359 amino acids, respectively. There were 1-3 Chae-A alleles and 2-5 Chae-B alleles in each animal. In African green monkeys, rhesus monkeys, and cynomolgus monkeys, the MHC-A and MHC-B alleles display trans-species polymorphism, rather than being clustered in a species-specific fashion.