HLA DQ1/DQ3 Products

HLA-DQB1 belongs to the HLA class II beta chain paralogues. This class II molecule is a heterodimer consisting of analpha (DQA) and a beta chain (DQB), both anchored in the membrane. It plays a central role in the immune system bypresenting 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 6 exons.Exon one encodes the leader peptide, exons 2 and 3 encode the two extracellular domains, exon 4 encodes thetransmembrane domain and exon 5 encodes the cytoplasmic tail. Within the DQ molecule both the alpha chain and the betachain contain the polymorphisms specifying the peptide binding specificities, resulting in up to 4 differentmolecules. Typing for these polymorphisms is routinely done for bone marrow transplantation. (provided by RefSeq)