Genetic characterization of FLA, the cat major histocompatibility complex.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the domestic cat (termed FLA) has been refractile to genetic and serological definition largely because of repeated failure to detect cytotoxic antibodies in multiparous cats or to elicit antibody following allogeneic lymphocyte immunization. We have developed a protocol for producing cytotoxic alloantisera in the cat following rejection of multiple surgical skin grafts. Of 59 cats subjected to grafting, 13 produced lymphocytotoxic antisera which had varying specificities among a panel of outbred cat cells. A population cluster analysis of the 13 alloantisera permitted the identification of six clusters of overlapping FLA specificities. Serological analysis of cells from 12 cat kindreds led to the definition of 24 allogeneic haplotypes, which segregate as a single Mendelian complex. Feline FLA antisera were characterized as class I or class II specific by immunoprecipitation of FLA gene products on lymphocyte cell surfaces. Abundant antigenic polymorphisms for both class I and class II MHC determinants were discovered, a result consistent with precedence in other species and the common expectation of the adaptive value of MHC variation. Development of feline MHC typing reagents and the definition of haplotypes for the cat hold promise for experimental analysis of valuable feline models for virus-induced immune deficiencies.