HLA-DPA1

Overview

HLA-DPA1 encodes the alpha chain of MHC class II molecule HLA-DP, which presents exogenous peptides to CD4+ T cells. In normal skin biology, its expression marks a high-mutation-burden melanocyte subpopulation associated with UV-damage signatures and antigen-presentation activity.

Alterations observed in the corpus

  • HLA-DPA1 is a transcriptomic marker of the HighMut melanocyte subpopulation (high UV mutation burden, enriched in interfollicular epidermis) in a single-cell multi-omic atlas of 297 melanocytes from 31 donors; co-expressed with HMOX1, HERC2, MC1R, ABCC2, and LIPA PMID:39975212.

Cancer types (linked)

  • No cancer-type associations reported in the corpus. Data derive from non-lesional skin adjacent to a melanoma patient; no melanoma driver claim is made PMID:39975212.

Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity

  • HLA-DPA1 expression co-occurs with the HighMut pigmentation/UV-damage program and anti-correlates with the LowMut neural-crest program (HACD1, VCAN, TAGLN) in the same melanocyte atlas PMID:39975212.

Therapeutic relevance

  • Not reported in the corpus.

Open questions

  • The biological significance of MHC class II (HLA-DPA1) upregulation in UV-damaged melanocytes — potential immune surveillance role vs bystander expression — is not established PMID:39975212.

Sources

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