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. 1989 Jan 1;169(1):351–356. doi: 10.1084/jem.169.1.351

Modulation of HLA class II antigen expression by transfection of sense and antisense DR alpha cDNA

PMCID: PMC2189193  PMID: 2462612

Abstract

In the human there are three isotypic forms of MHC class II gene products (HLA-DR, -DQ, and -DP). The isotype-matched alpha-beta dimers are predominant but isotype-mismatched dimers can also be expressed (DR alpha-DQ beta). Here it is shown that the expression of the DR alpha-DQ beta dimer can be correlated to a high ratio of DR alpha/DR beta mRNA. The DR alpha chain expression was modulated by transfection of a sense and antisense DR alpha cDNA. Overexpression of DR alpha promoted the appearance of the DR alpha-DQ beta dimer. On the other hand, pre- existing DR alpha-DQ beta dimer expression was suppressed after antisense DR alpha cDNA transfection. Therefore, imbalanced expression of the alpha and beta chain from a given isotype could lead to the modification of HLA class II phenotype.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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