Examination of four HLA class I pseudogenes. Common events in the evolution of HLA genes and pseudogenes.

The HLA class I gene family in lymphoblastoid cell line 721 has been studied in detail and a number of sequences in addition to the classical genes have been identified. The cloning, characterization, and nucleotide sequences of four sequences, all full length HLA class I pseudogenes, are described in this report. These pseudogenes, contained within 5.4-, 5.9-, 7.0-, and 9.2-kb HindIII fragments, each have the class I exon-intron structure as well as class I homology in their 5' and 3' flanking regions. However, all four sequences have one or more substitutions that perturb the coding region, leaving little doubt that they are in fact pseudogenes. Comparisons among these sequences and the HLA class I genes revealed that their homology with the class I genes is patchwork. Thus, although some regions have diverged, other contiguous intron-exon sequences are highly conserved. Comparisons in the 5' regions indicate that the pseudogene promoters more closely resemble the classical HLA promoters than the nonclassical promoters as none of the unique structural features found in the HLA-E, -F, or -G regulatory regions are present in any of the pseudogene promoters. Further comparisons revealed that at least two putative gene conversion events, similar to those hypothesized to have occurred in the evolution of some HLA genes, may have occurred in the evolution of some of the pseudogenes. These and other hypothetical events in the evolution of the class I gene family are discussed.