Comparative modeling of marsupial MHC class I molecules identifies structural polymorphisms affecting functional motifs

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are transmembrane glycoproteins that present antigenic peptides to CD8+ T cells and are subsequently important for the initiation of an immune response. In this study novel MHC class I sequences from the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) have been characterized. Analysis and comparative modeling of these and existing marsupial molecules reveals potential functional polymorphisms within peptide-binding grooves, MHC assembly motifs and the T cell receptor recognition interface. In addition, we show that a previously identified marsupial-specific insertion is within a region, which is known as a putative NK cell receptor (Ly49A) binding site in the mouse, suggesting that this site may be functionally active in marsupials. Further, the analysis highlighted differences in structural and sequence based grouping of marsupial MHC class I molecules.