Discovery of novel MHC-class I alleles and haplotypes in Filipino cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) by pyrosequencing and Sanger sequencing: Mafa-class I polymorphism.

Although the low polymorphism of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) transplantation genes in the Filipino cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is expected to have important implications in the selection and breeding of animals for medical research, detailed polymorphism information is still lacking for many of the duplicated class I genes. To better elucidate the degree and types of MHC polymorphisms and haplotypes in the Filipino macaque population, we genotyped 127 unrelated animals by the Sanger sequencing method and high-resolution pyrosequencing and identified 112 different alleles, 28 at cynomolgus macaque MHC (Mafa)-A, 54 at Mafa-B, 12 at Mafa-I, 11 at Mafa-E, and seven at Mafa-F alleles, of which 56 were newly described. Of them, the newly discovered Mafa-A8*01:01 lineage allele had low nucleotide similarities (<86%) with primate MHC class I genes, and it was also conserved in the Vietnamese and Indonesian populations.

Increase of KL-6 in sera of uveitis patients with sarcoidosis.

Background: KL-6 is a human glycoprotein secreted by type II alveolar cells in lung, and its serum levels increase in pneumonia of various causes. KL-6 is a member of the MUC-1 family, which is expressed in lung, cornea, and conjunctiva. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the clinical usefulness of quantifying serum KL-6 levels for diagnosing sarcoidosis in patients with uveitis.