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The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large genomic region or gene family found in most vertebrates containing many genes with important immune system roles. In humans, the MHC spans almost 4 megabases of chromosome 6 and includes more than 200 known genes, of which about half have known immmunological functions. The best known genes in the MHC region are the subset that encodes cell-surface antigen-presenting proteins. In humans, these genes are referred to as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. The most intensely studied HLA genes are: HLA A, HLA B, HLA C, HLA DPA, HLA DPB1, HLA DQA1, HLA DQB1, HLA DRA, and HLA DRB1. In humans, the HLA is divided into three regions: Class I, II, and III. The A, B, and C genes belong to HLA class I while the six D genes belong to class II.
