major histocompatibility complex

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major histocompatibility complex (MHC) A large gene cluster that encodes various components of the immune system, including the histocompatibility proteins and components of the complement system. In humans the MHC is located on chromosome 6 and includes the HLA system. Other vertebrate species have similar MHC regions. Certain MHC genes can have many variant alleles; this produces an enormous diversity of proteins in a population, each individual possessing a unique set.

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