title: Identification of the rat maternally transmitted minor histocompatibility antigen.
abstract: The rat maternally transmitted Ag has been previously described as a minor histocompatibility Ag composed of a mitochondrially transmitted factor (MTF) and the RT1.Aa MHC class I molecule. We compared the DNA sequences of the 13 mitochondrial open reading frames from different rat strains and identified four coding polymorphisms that correlated with this MTF. We used synthetic 17-mer peptides spanning the polymorphisms to sensitize appropriate target cells in lymphocytotoxicity assays and found that the MTF is derived from an internal region of ATPase 6. A tridecameric derivative of the ATPase 6 17 mer (termed 13N3E) could sensitize RT1.Aa-expressing target cells at picomolar concentrations and, when present on such cells, could compete fully with the natural ligand in cold-target competition assays. Comparing the 13N3E peptide with the known peptide-binding requirements of RT1.Aa suggested two possible binding conformations, placing either an internal or a C-terminal arginine in the F pocket of the peptide-binding groove. Arguments favoring a "bulging" conformation, with N- and C-terminal residues bound into their conserved pockets, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235, USA.
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Bhuyan
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Lindahl
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Butcher
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens