MAPPING OF THE HUMAN ZN-ALPHA(2)-GLYCOPROTEIN GENE (AZGP1) TO CHROMOSOME 7Q22 BY IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION

The gene coding for Zn-alpha(2)-glycoprotein (AZGP1), a human protein with a high degree of similarity to class I major histocompatibility c omplex (MHC) antigens, was mapped by fluorescent in situ hybridization to chromosome 7q22, a common breakpoint in myelodysplastic syndromes. Since classical MHC genes map on chromosome 6, this assignment indica tes that besides duplication of the putative common ancestor gene, tra nsposition events to different chromosomes have also been involved in the evolutionary diversification of this gene family.