title: Proportional amplification of individual HLA-A and -B antigens during upregulated expression of total class I HLA molecules.
abstract: Our recent studies demonstrated that each specific HLA-A or -B antigen is not expressed in equal quantity in cells of an individual and that the relative amounts of different HLA-A and -B antigens are genetically predetermined following Mendelian laws. These findings suggest the potential genetic importance of varied quantitative HLA expression on target cells in determining the sensitivity to cytotoxic T lymphocytes. It would be important to know whether the amounts of different HLA antigens are differentially or proportionally amplified after upregulated expression of total HLA antigens. We have therefore determined the effects of IFN treatment, EBV transformation, and influenza virus infection on the quantitative expression of total HLA antigens and the relative quantities of different specific HLA-A and -B antigens in human fibroblasts cell line and peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes. In contrast to earlier studies using the transfected HLA genes, our results show that different individual HLA-A and -B antigens are proportionally and not differentially amplified during upregulated expression of total class I HLA molecules. This finding indicates that the genetic predetermination of varied quantitative expression of HLA antigens may play a role in influencing antiviral immunity and disease susceptibility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610, USA.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Shieh
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Kao
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000502:physiology; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007372:Interferons / Q000502:physiology; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D009975:Orthomyxoviridae / Q000276:immunology; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D007372:Interferons