Nearby Genes
HLA-DQA1 - major histocompatibility complex, class II, DQ alpha 1HLA-DQA1 belongs to the HLA class II alpha chain paralogues. The class II molecule is a heterodimer consisting of an alpha (DQA) and a beta chain (DQB), both anchored in the membrane. It plays a central role in the immune system by presenting peptides derived from extracellular proteins. Class II molecules are expressed in antigen presenting cells (APC: B Lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages). The alpha chain is approximately 33-35 kDa. It is encoded by 5 exons; exon 1 encodes the leader peptide, exons 2 and 3 encode the two extracellular domains, and exon 4 encodes the transmembrane domain and the cytoplasmic tail. Within the DQ molecule both the alpha chain and the beta chain contain the polymorphisms specifying the peptide binding specificities, resulting in up to four different molecules. Typing for these polymorphisms is routinely done for bone marrow transplantation. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
HLA-DQA2 - major histocompatibility complex, class II, DQ alpha 2This gene belongs to the HLA class II alpha chain family. The encoded protein forms a heterodimer with a class II beta chain. It is located in intracellular vesicles and plays a central role in the peptide loading of MHC class II molecules by helping to release the CLIP molecule from the peptide binding site. Class II molecules are expressed in antigen presenting cells (B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages) and are used to present antigenic peptides on the cell surface to be recognized by CD4 T-cells. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2010]
HLA-DQB1 - major histocompatibility complex, class II, DQ beta 1HLA-DQB1 belongs to the HLA class II beta chain paralogs. This class II molecule is a heterodimer consisting of an alpha (DQA) and a beta chain (DQB), both anchored in the membrane. It plays a central role in the immune system by presenting peptides derived from extracellular proteins. Class II molecules are expressed in antigen presenting cells (APC: B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages). The beta chain is approximately 26-28 kDa and it contains six exons. Exon 1 encodes the leader peptide, exons 2 and 3 encode the two extracellular domains, exon 4 encodes the transmembrane domain and exon 5 encodes the cytoplasmic tail. Within the DQ molecule both the alpha chain and the beta chain contain the polymorphisms specifying the peptide binding specificities, resulting in up to four different molecules. Typing for these polymorphisms is routinely done for bone marrow transplantation. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2011]