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Transcription and weak expression of HLA-DRB6 : a gene with anomalies in exon 1 and other regions

Authors :
Estela Paz-Artal
V Fernández-Soria
Maria J. Recio
Miguel A. Moreno
Belen Suarez
María Jesús Pena Castro
Antonio Arnaiz-Villena
Pablo Morales
Source :
Immunogenetics. 48:16-21
Publication Year :
1998
Publisher :
Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 1998.

Abstract

HLA-DRB6 is one of the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes present in DR1, DR2, and DR10 haplotypes (approximately 26% of individuals). It shows several anomalies in human and non-human primates, including exon 2 stop codons (non-randomly grouped between codons 74 and 94) and a promoter region, and an exon 1 coming from an inserted retrovirus. It has been shown that not only chimpanzee but also human Mhc-DRB6 lack the usual 3' untranslated (UT) polyadenylation signal, and in the present work it was found that the human DRB6 gene coming from an HLA-DR2 haplotype is effectively transcribed after transfection in mouse L cells, and that HLA-DRB6 molecules may be expressed on the cell surface. DRB6 transcription level is remarkably lower in human than in chimpanzee. Moreover, their exons 1 (both taken from the 3'LTR region of a mammary tumor retrovirus) are also different; this shows that these viral insertions may be an important mechanism for different evolutionary changes in orthologous genes of different species. The pathways by which DRB6 molecules may be expressed on the membrane are unclear but other examples of truncated protein expression have also been described, even within the human major histocompatibility complex (i. e., in HLA-G). Finally, the presence of mature HLA-DRB6 mRNA molecules supports the notion that splicing may take place even in the absence of a canonical 3'UT polyadenylation signal.

Details

ISSN :
14321211 and 00937711
Volume :
48
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Immunogenetics
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....cd0d8a653122f9d8ac6d84a23ced7f75
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s002510050395