Abstract
Class I histocompatibility antigens (H–2 antigens in the mouse) are 44,000-moIecular weight cell-surface glycoproteins, the proper insertion of which depends on their noncovalent association with β2-microglobulin (β2m) (reviewed in ref. 1). They are involved in a variety of immune phenomena, particularly in self/non-self recognition (reviewed in ref. 2). H–2 antigens and β2m are expressed by nearly all adult somatic cells. The status of their expression on pre-implantation mouse embryos remains controversial3,4 although they are generally agreed to be serologically detectable at post-implantation stages5. H–2 and β2m genes are therefore developmentally regulated. H–2 antigens have not been found on murine embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells6, which are widely used as an alternative to studying normal early embryonic cells7–9, but they become detectable during in vitro differentiation of EC cells10–12. During studies aimed at understanding the genetic mechanisms involved in the expression of H–2 antigens and β2m during differentiation, cDNAs reverse transcribed from mRNAs coding for H–2 or H–2-related heavy chains and β2m have been characterized13–16. H–2 and β2m cDNAs were used as probes to screen total poly(A)+ RNAs from various cell types. We report here that trace amounts of poly(A)+ RNA from EC cells were found to hybridize with these probes, finding which contrasts with results obtained on poly(A)+ RNA prepared from differentiated cells. These results, taken together with the absence of major rearrangements in H–2 and β2m genes during differentiation, suggest that H–2 and β2m expression is likely to be controlled at the level of transcription.
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Morello, D., Daniel, F., Baldacci, P. et al. Absence of significant H–2 and β2-microglobulin mRNA expression by mouse embryonal carcinoma cells. Nature 296, 260–262 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/296260a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/296260a0
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