Isolation of a monoclonal antibody from a phage display library binding the rhesus macaque MHC class I allomorph Mamu-A1*001.

Monoclonal antibodies that bind to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) are useful tools for HLA-typing, tracking donor-recipient chimerisms after bone marrow transplants, and characterizing specific major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) on cell surfaces. Unfortunately, equivalent reagents are not available for rhesus macaques, which are commonly used animal as models in organ transplant and infectious disease research. To address this deficiency, we isolated an antibody that recognizes the common Indian rhesus macaque MHC class I molecule, Mamu-A1*001.