MHC, or major histocompatibility complex is a gene complex found in jawed vertebrates. The genes found on this region of the genome include several important genes which encode proteins which are responsible for presenting peptides on the cell surface for inspection by cells of the immune system. In human, such genes are called HLA (human leukocyte antigen). MaHCO contains terms necessary for describing and categorizing concepts related to MHC, in general, and for a number of model species, and also for humans. Important resources include the international ImMunoGeneTics information system (IMGT), and the Immuno Polymorphism Database (IPD).
April 13th, 2009