major histocompatibility complex, class II, DQ alpha 1

Symbol

HLA-DQA1 (may also be known as: None)

Organism

Human

Description

HLA-DQA1 belongs to the HLA class II alpha chain paralogues. The class II molecule is a heterodimer consisting of an alpha (DQA) and a beta chain (DQB), both anchored in the membrane. It plays a central role in the immune system by presenting peptides derived from extracellular proteins. Class II molecules are expressed in antigen presenting cells (APC: B Lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages). The alpha chain is approximately 33-35 kDa. It is encoded by 5 exons; exon 1 encodes the leader peptide, exons 2 and 3 encode the two extracellular domains, and exon 4 encodes the transmembrane domain and the cytoplasmic tail. Within the DQ molecule both the alpha chain and the beta chain contain the polymorphisms specifying the peptide binding specificities, resulting in up to four different molecules. Typing for these polymorphisms is routinely done for bone marrow transplantation. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]

Orthologs

SymbolSpecies
H2-Aa Mus musculus
RT1-Ba Rattus norvegicus

Links to external resources

Changes associated with this gene

GO Terms

GO IDGO TermGO Category
GO:0002504 antigen processing and presentation of peptide or polysaccharide antigen via MHC class II biological_process
GO:0006955 immune response biological_process
GO:0019221 cytokine-mediated signaling pathway biological_process
GO:0019882 antigen processing and presentation biological_process
GO:0031295 T cell costimulation biological_process
GO:0050852 T cell receptor signaling pathway biological_process
GO:0060333 interferon-gamma-mediated signaling pathway biological_process
GO:0005765 lysosomal membrane cellular_component
GO:0005768 endosome cellular_component
GO:0005783 endoplasmic reticulum cellular_component
GO:0005789 endoplasmic reticulum membrane cellular_component
GO:0005794 Golgi apparatus cellular_component
GO:0005886 plasma membrane cellular_component
GO:0005887 integral to plasma membrane cellular_component
GO:0010008 endosome membrane cellular_component
GO:0016020 membrane cellular_component
GO:0016021 integral to membrane cellular_component
GO:0042613 MHC class II protein complex cellular_component
GO:0032395 MHC class II receptor activity molecular_function