This page is hosted by the Anthony Nolan HLA Informatics Group, led by Professor Steven GE Marsh, BSc PhD ARCS, Anthony Nolan’s Bioinformatics Director and Deputy Director of Research.

The HLA Informatics Group designed and now maintains a number of internationally recognised locus specific databases. These include:

• The IMGT/HLA Database, which provides a specialist database for sequences of the human major histocompatibility complex (HLA) and includes the official sequences for the World Health Organization Nomenclature Committee For Factors of the HLA System. The IMGT/HLA Database currently contains over 18,000 allele sequences. In addition to the physical sequences, the database holds detailed information about the material the sequence was derived from and data on the validation of the sequences. Further information on the latest HLA Nomenclature can be found at hla.alleles.org.
• The IPD-KIR Sequence Database provides a centralised repository for KIR sequences. Killer cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (KIRs) have been shown to be highly polymorphic at the allelic and haplotypic level. KIRs are members of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF), formerly called Killer Cell Inhibitory Receptors. They are composed of two or three Ig-domains, a transmembrane region and cytoplasmic tail, which can in turn be short (activatory) or long (inhibitory). The Leukocyte Receptor Complex (LRC) which encodes KIR genes has been shown to be polymorphic, polygenic and complex like the MHC.
• The IPD-MHC Sequence Database provides a centralised repository for sequences of the major histocompatibility complex from a number of different species. Through several international collaborations IPD is able to provide the MHC sequences of different species. The sequences provided by each group are curated by experts in the field and then submitted to the central database. Currently the database includes sequence data from domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, non-human primates, cattle, rats, domestic cats, sheep, fish and pigs.
• The IPD-NHKIR Sequence Database provides a centralised repository for non-human KIR (NHKIR) sequences.