Killer cell lectin-like receptor subfamily A (KLRA, alternative nomenclature Ly49) is a
gene cluster coding proteins from family
Ly49 Ly49 is a Protein family, family of membrane C-type lectin-like Cell surface receptor, receptors expressed mainly on Natural killer cell, NK cells but also on other immune cells (some Cytotoxic T cell, CD8+ and CD3+ T lymphocytes, intestinal epithel ...
, which are membrane receptors expressed mainly on the surface of
NK cells and other cells of immune system in some mammals including rodents and cattle but not humans.
Mouse ''Klra'' gene cluster is located on
chromosome
A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
6 and comprises 20-30
genes
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
and
pseudogenes, e.g. Klra1 (Ly49A).
''Klra'' gene family is highly
polymorphic and
polygenic and various mouse
strains encode different number of ''Klra'' genes.
The homologous human KLRAP1
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
has been classified as a transcribed
pseudogene
Pseudogenes are nonfunctional segments of DNA that resemble functional genes. Most arise as superfluous copies of functional genes, either directly by DNA duplication or indirectly by Reverse transcriptase, reverse transcription of an mRNA trans ...
because all associated transcripts are candidates for
nonsense-mediated decay
Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a surveillance pathway that exists in all eukaryotes. Its main function is to reduce errors in gene expression by eliminating mRNA transcripts that contain premature stop codons. Translation of these aberrant ...
(NMD).
References
External links
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{{immunology-stub