Characterization of major histocompatibility complex class I allele polymorphisms in common marmosets.

Currently, little information is available for major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I that conditions the T-cell response of marmosets. In this study, 471 clones of MHC-I cDNA sequences were isolated from 12 marmosets. Twenty full-length sequences of class I G (Caja-G) alleles were obtained from these marmosets, 15 of them were novel. Among these 20 Caja-G alleles, 10 were found in individual animals while the rests were in two to four marmosets, but none was common to all animals. Ten marmosets possessed one to three Caja-G alleles, and two marmosets carried five or six alleles, which suggested that the Caja-G locus was duplicated in marmoset's genome. The high polymorphisms of Caja-G sequences provided important information helpful for understanding the cellular immune response in virus-infected marmosets.