Genetic Diversity and mRNA Expression of Porcine MHC Class I Chain-Related 2 (SLA-MIC2) Gene and Development of a High-Resolution Typing Method

PLoS One. 2015 Aug 25;10(8):e0135922. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135922. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The genetic structure and function of MHC class I chain-related (MIC) genes in the pig genome have not been well characterized, and show discordance in available data. Therefore, we have experimentally characterized the exon-intron structure and functional copy expression pattern of the pig MIC gene, SLA-MIC2. We have also studied the genetic diversity of SLA-MIC2 from seven different breeds using a high-resolution genomic sequence-based typing (GSBT) method. Our results showed that the SLA-MIC2 gene has a similar molecular organization as the human and cattle orthologs, and is expressed in only a few tissues including the small intestine, lung, and heart. A total of fifteen SLA-MIC2 alleles were identified from typing 145 animals, ten of which were previously unreported. Our analysis showed that the previously reported and tentatively named SLA-MIC2*05, 07, and 01 alleles occurred most frequently. The observed heterozygosity varied from 0.26 to 0.73 among breeds. The number of alleles of the SLA-MIC2 gene in pigs is somewhat lower compared to the number of alleles of the porcine MHC class I and II genes; however, the level of heterozygosity was similar. Our results indicate the comprehensiveness of using genomic DNA-based typing for the systemic study of the SLA-MIC2 gene. The method developed for this study, as well as the detailed information that was obtained, could serve as fundamental tools for understanding the influence of the SLA-MIC2 gene on porcine immune responses.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Breeding
  • Cattle
  • Genes, MHC Class I / genetics*
  • Genes, MHC Class I / immunology
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Haplotypes
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class I
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / genetics*
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / immunology
  • Humans
  • RNA, Messenger / biosynthesis
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Sus scrofa
  • Swine

Substances

  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class I
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class II
  • RNA, Messenger
  • swine leukocyte antigen

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (No. PJ011130) and the “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (PJ009103)” of the Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. Soundrarajan was supported by the 2013 KU Brain Pool of Konkuk University. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.