title: Polymorphism in the Ialpha1 germ-line transcript regulatory region and IgA productivity in patients with IgA nephropathy.
abstract: Enhanced in vivo and in vitro production of IgA has been reported in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and their family members. It is generally considered that IgA1 is a prominent subclass of IgA in IgAN. Although genetic mechanisms of IgA class switch recombination in IgAN have been studied enthusiastically, the critical factors that induce IgA1-specific class switching in IgAN have yet to be elucidated. A large body of data indicates that the germ-line transcript of Ig constant region (C(H)) genes that precedes actual class switching has regulatory effects on class switch recombination. To analyze structural abnormalities in the Ialpha1 germ-line transcript regulatory gene, a region about 1000 bp long located upstream of Ialpha1 exons was surveyed by the PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism method, and the polymorphism detected was confirmed by subsequent DNA sequencing. Three hot spots for point mutation were detected upstream of the promoter region of the Ialpha1 germ-line transcript, and the mutations were observed more frequently in patients than in controls. Patients with the mutations showed higher levels of serum IgA and higher in vitro IgA synthesis. In the luciferase assay, the regulatory gene with the mutations showed a potent effect for induction of the Ialpha1 germ-line transcript. The polymorphism in the Ialpha1 regulatory region possibly causes enhanced IgA production in some patients with IgAN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asakura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Endoh
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nomoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kurokawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D005922:Glomerulonephritis, IGA / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D017578:Immunoglobulin Class Switching / Q000235:genetics*; D007127:Immunoglobulin Constant Regions / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational
chemical_list: D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007127:Immunoglobulin Constant Regions