Nine major HLA class I supertypes account for the vast preponderance of HLA-A and -B polymorphism (original) (raw)

Abstract

Herein, we review the epitope approach to vaccine development, and discuss how knowledge of HLA supertypes might be used as a tool in the development of such vaccines. After reviewing the main structural features of the A2-, A3-, B7-, and B44- supertype alleles, and biological data demonstrating their immunological relevance, we analyze the frequency at which these supertype alleles are expressed in various ethnicities and discuss the relevance of those observations to vaccine development. Next, the existence of five new supertypes (A1, A24, B27, B58, and B62) is reported. As a result, it is possible to account for the predominance of all known HLA class I with only nine main functional binding specificities. The practical implications of this finding, as well as its relevance to understanding the functional implication of MHC polymorphism in humans, are discussed.

Article PDF

Similar content being viewed by others

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epimmune Inc., 5820 Nancy Ridge Drive, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121, USA e-mail: jsidney@epimmune.com Tel.: +1-858-8602544, Fax: +1-858-8602600, , , , , , US
    A. Sette & J. Sidney

Authors

  1. A. Sette
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
  2. J. Sidney
    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sette, A., Sidney, J. Nine major HLA class I supertypes account for the vast preponderance of HLA-A and -B polymorphism.Immunogenetics 50, 201–212 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002510050594

Download citation