The number of major histocompatibility (MHC) protein combinations possible in a given population is enormous. However, an individual in the population has a far more limited array of MHC molecules because ________.
A) the MHC proteins are made from several different gene regions that are capable of rearranging in a number of ways
B) MHC proteins from one individual can only be of class I or class II
C) each of the MHC genes has a large number of alleles, but each individual only inherits two for each gene
D) once a B cell has matured in the bone marrow, it is limited to two MHC response categories

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Each individual inherits only two alleles for each MHC gene, one from each parent, which limits the variety of MHC molecules an individual can produce despite the large number of possible alleles in the population.

The Number of Major Histocompatibility (MHC) Protein Combinations Possible in a Given