Abstract

CHANG-MONTEAGUDO, Arturo et al. Nomenclature evolution for factors of human leukocyte antigen system. Rev Cubana Hematol Inmunol Hemoter [online]. 2014, vol.30, n.1, pp.11-20. ISSN 0864-0289.

The nomenclature for the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system has been modified as its factors were been discovered and characterized. The progress in the molecular biology field led the most important nominal changes in the so call Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). At present, an allele name is formed by the prefix "HLA" followed by a hyphen (-) and the name of the gene A, B, C, DP, DQ or DR. After the lead an asterisk (*) is used as a separator and it is followed by four numeric fields delimited each other by two colons (:). The first field describes the allele group and frequently corresponds with the serology name, and the second field indicates the specific protein. The third field shows a synonymous nucleotide substitution; the fourth one shows differences in a non-coding region. Suffixes could be used to denote changes in the antigen expression: "N" for null, "L" for "low", "S" for secreted without membrane expression, "C" for cytoplasmatic, "A" for aberrant, when doubts in the expression; and «Q» for questionable, in case of mutations that could affect the normal expression levels.

Keywords : HLA antigens; major histocompatibility complex; organ transplantation; terminology; nomenclature.

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