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. 1974 May;71(5):2123–2127. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.5.2123

Immunological Identity of the Small Subunit of HL-A Antigens and β2-Microglobulin and Its Turnover on the Cell Membrane

Peter Cresswell *, Timothy Springer *, Jack L Strominger *, Mervyn J Turner *, Howard M Grey †, Ralph T Kubo †
PMCID: PMC388399  PMID: 4134761

Abstract

A number of immunological methods have been employed to show that the small subunit of HL-A antigens, isolated either after papain treatment or after solubilization with detergent, is identical to β2-microglobulin, a protein previously isolated from human urine and shown to be homologous in structure to constant region domains of immunoglobulins. Moreover, quantitative data indicate virtually total identity between the small subunit of HL-A antigens and β2-microglobulin. Studies of the turnover of labeled HL-A antigens from the lymphocyte surface indicate that the two subunits turn over at similar rates, although only the small subunit could be detected in the culture medium. The significance of these observations is discussed.

Keywords: immunoglobulins, lymphocytes, histocompatibility

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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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