Publication Date:
2011-07-06
Description:
Classic MHC molecules present short peptides at the cell surface and play a key role in the recognition of self or nonself antigens. One of the exceptional properties of the MHC is its polymorphism, expressed at the population level in a vast number of alleles and at the sequence level in excessive allele divergence (1). Each MHC molecule binds a specific range of antigens, and heterozygote advantage (i.e., increased surveillance against invading pathogens due to an optimal level of MHC diversity) is proposed as one of the main mechanisms for the maintenance of this polymorphism. In this light, the recently...
Keywords:
Letters
Print ISSN:
0027-8424
Electronic ISSN:
1091-6490
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
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