IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system®

Nomenclature

IMGT nomenclature provides immunologists and geneticists with unique standardized IMGT gene names for the immunoglobulins (IG) or antibodies and T cell receptors (TR) of all jawed vertebrate species (gnathostomata) from fishes to humans, allowing data extraction and comparison of the highly complex and hugely diverse B and T cell antigen receptor repertoires, whatever the species [18].

The IMGT nomenclature of IG and TR genes and alleles is the official nomenclature approved by the IUIS Immunoglobulins (IG), T cell receptors (TR) and Major Histocompatibility (MH) Nomenclature Sub-Committee [16,17].

The WHO-IUIS Nomenclature Subcommitte for Immunoglobulins and T cell receptors report. Aug. 19, 2007. [16,17]

• IMGT nomenclature for IG and TR genes of all jawed vertebrate species (gnathostomata) [1] is based on the 'CLASSIFICATION' concept of the IMGT-ONTOLOGY [1] and follows the Human Gene Mapping Nomenclature rules. This has been applied as early as 1988, for the human IGL and IGH loci [2,3], and 1989 for all the genes of the human TRG locus [4,5].
  The rules for the IG and TR IMGT gene nomenclature and IMGT allele nomenclature for sequence polymorphisms are described in the IMGT Scientific chart.
• IMGT gene names and IMGT gene definitions for the human IG [6-10] and TR genes [11,12] have been approved by HGNC, the HUman Genome Organization (HUGO) Gene Nomenclature Commitee in 1999. Gene names can be searched using Human Gene Nomenclature Database Search Engine. Note that, in the HUGO symbols, slashes and parentheses are omitted, and capital letters replace the lower-case letters found in some provisional IMGT gene names. Otherwise the gene symbols and all the full names (including slashes and parentheses) are identical in IMGT and HUGO nomenclatures.
• IMGT is delegated by HGNC to assign immunoglobulin and T cell receptor gene symbols and alleles, via the IMGT/LIGM-DB database, and HLA gene symbols and alleles via the IMGT/HLA database [13].
• The IMGT nomenclature is officially recognized as the scientific community standard [14].
• Correspondence between nomenclatures are described in tables.

Exhaustive and standardized list of human IG and TR gene names and mouse IG and TR gene names are available from the IMGT Repertoire at the IMGT Web resources [6]. These lists provide links to NCBI (for human), MGD (for mouse), and Entrez Gene entries.

IMGT IG and TR genes at HGNC

Princeps publications on IG and TR gene nomenclature

Lefranc, M.-P. Nomenclature of the human immunoglobulin genes. In: Current Protocols in Immunology (J. E. Coligan, B.E. Bierer, D.E. Margulies, E.M. Shevach and W. Strober, eds.), John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken N.J., pp. A.1P.1-A.1P.37 (2000). LIGM: 230. PMID: 18432650 [6]

Lefranc, M.-P. Nomenclature of the human T cell receptor genes. In: Current Protocols in Immunology (J. E. Coligan, B.E. Bierer, D.E. Margulies, E.M. Shevach and W. Strober, eds.), John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken N.J., pp. A.1O.1-A.1O.23 (2000). LIGM:231. PMID: 18432649 [11]

Lefranc M.-P. and Lefranc G. The Immunoglobulin FactsBook , Academic Press, London, UK, 2001 (458 pages) [7]

Lefranc M.-P. and Lefranc G. The T cell receptor FactsBook , Academic Press, London, UK, 2001 (398 pages) [12]

Lefranc M-P. Immunoglobulin (IG) and T cell receptor genes (TR): IMGT® and the birth and rise of immunoinformatics. Front Immunol. 2014 Feb 05;5:22. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00022. Open access PMID: 24600447 [18] (on invitation of the IUIS Nomenclature Committee)

IMGT/GENE-DB

IMGT/GENE-DB allows to retrieve information on IG and TR genes of human and other jawed vertebrate species (gnathostomata), based on the IMGT gene name nomenclature [15].