Background of the antigen
The hydroxyacylglutathione hydrolase-like protein (HAGHL) is a 290 amino acid protein that belongs to the glyoxalase II family. HAGHL binds two zinc ions per subunit and acts as a hydrolase on ester bonds. The gene encoding HAGHL maps to human chromosome 16, which encodes over 900 genes in approximately 90 million base pairs, makes up nearly 3% of human cellular DNA and is associated with a variety of genetic disorders. The rare disorder Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome is associated with chromosome 16, as is Crohn's disease, a gastrointestinal inflammatory condition that may involve the NOD2 gene. An association with systemic lupus erythematosis and a number of other autoimmune disorders with the pericentromeric region of chromosome 16 has led to the identification of SLC5A11 as a potential autoimmune modifier.
