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Biomedical subjects

B Mach

Publications and source records attributed to B Mach.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Enzymatic synthesis of DNA complementary to purified 14S messenger RNA of immunoglobulin light chain.

The 14S messenger RNA, which contains poly(adenylic acid), of MOPC 41 (mouse plasmocytoma) immunoglobulin light chain, purified to a single peak as shown by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was used to synthesize complementary DNA with the RNA-dependent DNA polymerase of avian myeloblastosis virus. DNA synthesis is entirely dependent on added RNA template and oligo(dT) primer. Both the size and the concentration of the primer affect the reaction. The product behaves similarly to DNA during centrifugation in cesium sulfate density gradients. It is shown by hybridization that the DNA made is complementary to the purified template, light-chain mRNA. The high specific activity of the complementary DNA should make it suitable for gene-dosage experiments. According to alkaline sucrose gradient analyses, some complete complementary DNA transcripts of the 14S mRNA seem to be made. Oligo(dG) can also function as a primer for DNA synthesis, possibly by annealing to an internal cluster of cytidines in the mRNA, that correspond to the bases coding for amino-acids 119 and 120 of the MOPC 41 light chain.

Animals

Template activity of RNA from antibody-producing tissues.

An RNA fraction, which represents a small percentage of cellular RNA and which has the characteristics of nuclear messenger RNA, has been isolated from the spleen and lymph nodes of immunized rats by successive phenol extractions of these tissues at increasing temperatures. This fraction increased the amount of protein synthesized in a cell-free extract of Escherichia coli as much as 35 times and directed the synthesis of proteins different from those of E. coli.

Animals

Expression of HLA-DR antigens at the surface of mouse L cells co-transfected with cloned human genes.

The H-2 I region in the mouse and the HLA-D region in humans contain a set of polymorphic genes which encode Ia antigens and control the immune response. Cloned genes for the different polypeptide chains of one of the human Ia antigens, HLA-DR, have been used for the co-transformation of mouse L cells. Expression of HLA-DR antigens at the surface of transfected mouse cells has been documented with monoclonal antibodies.

Animals

Structural relationship of the SB beta-chain gene to HLA-D-region genes and murine I-region genes.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) regulates several aspects of the immune response. Class II antigens of the MHC control cellular interactions between lymphocytes. In man, at least three class II antigens (DR, DC and SB), consisting of distinct alpha- and beta-chains, are encoded in the HLA complex. Sequence analysis has established that the DR and DC antigens are the respective structural counterparts of the murine I-E and I-A antigens. Molecular cloning of the SB beta-chain gene has now enabled us to define its relationship to other class II genes. The DR, DC and SB beta genes have diverged from each other to the same extent. In murine DNA and in cloned genes from the I region, the best hybridization of SB beta DNA is with the E beta 2 sequence. E beta 2 may belong to a complete gene (E' beta) because first domain sequences were found adjacent to it.

Animals

A trans-acting class II regulatory gene unlinked to the MHC controls expression of HLA class II genes.

Class II (or Ia) antigens are highly polymorphic surface molecules which are essential for the cellular interactions involved in the immune response. In man, these antigens are encoded by a complex multigene family which is located in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and which comprises up to 12 distinct alpha- and beta-chain genes, coding for the HLA-DR, -DQ and -DP antigens. One form of congenital severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in man, which is generally lethal, is characterized by an absence of HLA-DR histocompatibility antigens on peripheral blood lymphocytes (HLA class II-deficient SCID). In these patients, as reported here, we have observed an absence of messenger RNA for the alpha- and beta-chains of HLA-DR, -DQ and -DP, indicating a global defect in the expression of all class II genes. Moreover, the lack of expression of HLA class II mRNAs could not be corrected by gamma-interferon, an inducer of class II gene expression in normal cells. Family studies have established that the genetic defect does not segregate with the MHC. We conclude, therefore, that the expression of the entire family of class II genes is normally controlled by a trans-acting class II regulatory gene which is unlinked to the MHC and which is affected in the patients. This gene controls a function or a product necessary for the action of gamma-interferon on class II genes.

Gene Expression Regulation

Polymorphism of human Ia antigens: gene conversion between two DR beta loci results in a new HLA-D/DR specificity.

The polymorphic HLA-DR beta-chains are encoded within the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) by multiple loci resulting from gene duplications. Certain DR haplotypes can be grouped into families based on shared structural factors. We have studied the molecular basis of HLA-DR polymorphism within such a group which includes the haplotypes DR3, DR5 and DRw6. Molecular mapping of the DR beta-chain region allows true allelic comparisons of the two expressed DR beta-chain loci, DR beta I and DR beta III. At the more polymorphic locus, DR beta I, the allelic differences are clustered and may result from gene conversion events over very short distances. The gene encoding the HLA-DR3/Dw3 specificity has been generated by a gene conversion involving the DR beta I and the DR beta III loci of the HLA-DRw6/Dw18 haplotype, as recipient and donor gene, respectively. Based on which allele is found at DR beta III, the less polymorphic locus, two groups of haplotypes can be defined: DRw52a and DRw52b. The generation of HLA-DR polymorphism within the DRw52 supertypic group can thus be accounted for by a succession of gene duplication, divergence and gene conversion.

Alleles