GEL-ELECTROPHORETIC ANALYSIS OF RHESUS MACAQUE MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX CLASS-II DR MOLECULES

Rhesus macaque MHC class II DR molecules were isolated from radiolabel ed B-cell line extracts by immunoprecipitation with the mAbs 7.3.19.1 and B8. 11.2 and subsequently analyzed by 2D-gel electrophoresis. The B-cell lines used for this study were obtained from monkeys that are h omozygous for the Mamu-DR region as defined by serologic techniques. S ome of these animals have been selectively bred and originate from con sanguineous matings. These analyses show that monkeys with the same al lotyping may express different types of DR molecules. As in humans, th e number of DR molecules expressed per haplotype is not constant and v aries from 1 to 3, depending on the serologically defined Mamu-DR spec ificity, whereas it has been shown that the number of Mamu-DRB genes p resent per haplotype varies from 2 to 6. Therefore the present study a lso demonstrates that some of the rhesus macaque DR regions contain on e or more pseudogenes.