IMGT or the international ImMunoGeneTics information system is a collection of databases and resources for

immunoinformatics In academia, computational immunology is a field of science that encompasses high-throughput genomic and bioinformatics approaches to immunology. The field's main aim is to convert immunological data into computational problems, solve these proble ...

, particularly the V, D, J, and C gene sequences, as well as a providing other tools and data related to the

adaptive immune system The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and processes that eliminate pathogens or prevent their growth. The acquired immune system ...

. IMGT/LIGM-DB, the first and still largest database hosted as part of IMGT contains reference nucleotide sequences for 360 species'

T-cell receptor The T-cell receptor (TCR) is a protein complex found on the surface of T cells, or T lymphocytes, that is responsible for recognizing fragments of antigen as peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The bindin ...

and

immunoglobulin An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

molecules, as of 2023. These genes encode the proteins which are the foundation of adaptive immunity, which allows highly specific recognition and memory of pathogens.

History

IMGT was founded in June, 1989, by Marie-Paule Lefranc, an immunologist working at

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...

. The project was presented to the 10th Human Genome Mapping Workshop, and resulted in the recognition of V, D, J, and C regions as genes. The first resource created was IMGT/LIGM-DB, a reference for nucleotide sequences of T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin of humans, and later vertebrate species. IMGT was created under the auspices of Laboratoire d'ImmunoGénétique Moléculaire at the University of Montpellier as well as

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,63 ...

(CNRS). As both T-cell receptors and immunoglobulin molecules are built through a process of recombination of nucleotide sequences, the annotation of the building block regions and their role is unique within the genome. To standardize terminology and references, the IMGT-NC was created in 1992 and recognized by the

International Union of Immunological Societies The International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS), a member of the International Council for Science, is an organization which serves as an umbrella organization for many national and regionally grouped immunological societies. The organi ...

as a nomenclature subcommittee. Other tools include IMGT/Collier-de-Perles, a method for two dimensional representation of receptor amino acid sequences, and IMGT/mAb-DB, a database of

monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ...

. Now maintained by the HLA Informatics Group, the primary reference for human HLA, IPD-IMGT/HLA Database, originated in part with IMGT. It was merged with the Immuno Polymorphism Database in 2003 to form the current reference. Since 2015, IMGT has been headed by Sofia Kossida.

References

{{reflist Genetics databases Bioinformatics Biological databases

History

See also

References