Mouse genes coding for the major class I transplantation antigens: a mosaic structure might be related to the antigenic polymorphism.

The recent isolation, by recombinant DNA techniques, of cloned probes for mouse and human class I major transplantation antigens has initiated the molecular analysis of the corresponding genes. Mouse genes belong to a relatively large multigene family, whose members share extensive structural homologies. Sequence analyses suggest that some genes could have a mosaic structure. This feature might help us to understand one of the distinctive traits of these antigens: their large antigenic polymorphism.