Rat encodes the paralogous gene equivalent of the human histo-blood group ABO gene. Association with antigen expression by overexpression of human ABO transferase.
We cloned a rat ABO homologue and established human A- and B-transferase transgenic rats. A DNA fragment corresponding to exon 7 of the human ABO gene was amplified from Wistar rat genomic DNA and sequenced. Using the amplified fragments as a probe for Southern blotting, multiple hybridized bands appeared on both EcoRI- and BamHI-digested genomes of seven rat strains, which showed variations in the band numbers among the strains. Four cDNAs were cloned from a Wistar rat, three of which showed A-transferase activity and one of which showed B-transferase activity. These activities were dependent on the equivalent residues at 266 and 268 of human ABO transferase. Wild Wistar rats expressed A-antigen in salivary gland, intestine, and urinary bladder tissue, but B-antigen was not stained in any organs studied, whereas a transcript from the ABO homologue with B-transferase activity was ubiquitous. Human A-transferase and B-transferase were transferred into Wistar rats. A-transgenic rats expressed A-antigen in ectopic tissue of the brain plexus, type II lung epithelium, pancreas, and epidermis. B-antigen in the B-transgenic rat was expressed in the same organs as A-transgenic rats. These results may shed light on the function and evolution of the ABO gene in primates.
Iwamoto
Sadahiko
S
Department of Legal Medicine and Human Genetics, Jichi Medical School, Tochigi, Japan.
Kumada
Maki
M
Kamesaki
Toyomi
T
Okuda
Hiroshi
H
Kajii
Eiji
E
Inagaki
Takeshi
T
Saikawa
Daisuke
D
Takeuchi
Kouichi
K
Ohkawara
Sigeo
S
Takahashi
Riichi
R
Ueda
Shoji
S
Inoue
Seiichiro
S
Tahara
Kazunori
K
Hakamata
Yoji
Y
Kobayashi
Eiji
E
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D051381:Rats; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D014166:Transferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D001324:Autoantigens; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D014166:Transferases