Abstract
The class II major histocompatibility antigens, I–A and I–E, have been detected on the surface of certain immunocompetent cells, including B lymphocytes and monocytes1–3. These molecules are involved in cell–cell interactions in the immune responses4,5. Each class II antigen consists of two subunits, α and β chains, and the genes encoding these subunits have been well characterized at the molecular level6–9. To analyse the regulatory mechanism of Eα gene expression and the role of the I–E antigen in the regulation of the immune responses, we have produced transgenic mice by microinjecting cloned Edα genes into fertilized eggs of C57BL/6 mice of b haplotype. This strain of mouse carries a deletion in the upstream (5′) region of the Eα gene covering the transcriptional promoter and, therefore, does not express this gene10. Interestingly, this genetic defect of the Eα gene is accompanied by the inability of the host mouse to respond to a certain set of antigens, phenomena generally termed Ir gene control11,12. We report here that the Edα genes are expressed in these transgenic mice to form the I–EdαEdβ antigen on the surface of B lymphocytes and monocytes and that these I–E antigens are functional in terms of the induction of a mixed lymphocyte reaction and the restoration of immune responsiveness to poly(L-glutamic acid-L-lysine-L-phenylalanine) (GL-Phe).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hammerling, G., Deak, B., Mauve, G., Hammerling, U. & McDevitt, H. O. Immunogenetics 1, 68–74 (1974).
Steeg, P., Moore, R. & Oppenheim, J. J. exp. Med. 152, 1734–1744 (1980).
Snyder, D. S., Beller, D. I. & Unanue, E. R. Nature 299, 164–165 (1982).
McDevitt, H. O. J. Immunogenet. 8, 287–295 (1983).
Klein, J., Juretic, A., Baxevanis, C. N. & Nagy, Z. A. Nature 291, 455–460 (1981).
Steinmetz, M. et al. Nature 300, 35–43 (1982).
Hyldig-Nielsen, J. J. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 5055–5071 (1983).
Mathis, D. J., Benoist, C. O., Williams, V. E. II, Kanter, M. R. & McDevitt, H. O. Cell 32, 745–754 (1983).
Saito, H., Maki, R. A., Clayton, L. K. & Tonegawa, S. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 5520–5524 (1983).
Mathis, D. J., Benoist, C., Williams, V. E. II, Kanter, M. R. & McDevitt, H. O. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 273–277 (1983).
Benacerraf, B., Green, I. & Paula, W. E. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 32, 569–576 (1967).
McDevitt, H. O. & Sela, M. J exp. Med. 126, 969–981 (1967).
Lerner, E. A. et al. J. exp. Med. 152, 1085–1101 (1980).
Hammerling, G. J. Transplantn Rev. 30, 64–82. (1976).
Wiman, K. et al. Nature 276, 711–713 (1978).
Natali, P. G. et al. Transplantation 31, 75–78 (1981).
Hirschberg, H., Vergh, O. J. & Thorsby, E. J. exp. Med. 152, 249s–255s (1980).
Lacy, E., Roberts, S., Evans, E. P., Burtenshaw, M. S. & Costantini, F. D. Cell 34, 343–358 (1983).
Grosschedl, R., Weaver, D., Baltimore, D. & Costantini, F. Cell 36, 647–658 (1984).
Benacerraf, B. & Dorf, M. E. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 41, 465–467 (1976).
Schwartz, R. H., David, C. S., Sachs, D. H. & Paul, W. E. J. Immun. 117, 531–540 (1976).
Goodenow, R. S. et al. Science 215, 677–679 (1982).
Dorf, M. E. & Benacerraf, B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72, 3671–3675 (1976).
Solinger, A. M., Ulter, M. E., Malgoltash, E. & Schwartz, R. H. J. exp. Med. 150, 830–848 (1979).
Rabourdin-Combe, C. & Mach, B. Nature 303, 670–674 (1983).
Mallisen, B., Steinmetz, M., McMillan, M., Pierres, M. & Hood, L. Nature 305, 440–443 (1983).
Mellor, A. L. et al. Nature 298, 529–534 (1982).
Margulies, D. H., Evans, G. A., Ozato, K. & Seidman, J. G. J. Immun. 130, 463–470 (1983).
Germain, R. N., Norcross, M. A. & Margulies, D. H. Nature 306, 190–194 (1983).
Folsom, V. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81, 2045–2049 (1984).
Corradin, G. & Chiller, J. M. J. exp. Med. 149, 436–447 (1979).
Southern, E. J. molec. Biol. 98, 503 (1975).
Thomas, P. S. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 5201–5205 (1980).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yamamura, Ki., Kikutani, H., Folsom, V. et al. Functional expression of a microinjected Edα gene in C57BL/6 transgenic mice. Nature 316, 67–69 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/316067a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/316067a0
This article is cited by
-
Impaired expression of chimaeric major histocompatibility complex transgenes associated with plasmid sequences
Transgenic Research (1992)
-
Tissue-specific expression of theHLA-DRA gene in transgenic mice
Immunogenetics (1991)
-
I-E transgenic mice: A model system to dissect the regulation and function of MHC class II genes in vivo
Immunologic Research (1990)
-
Control of transcription at the murine Aα locus
Immunologic Research (1990)
-
Evidence that IFN-gamma does not affect MHC class II gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in a mouse macrophage cell line
Immunogenetics (1989)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.