RHCE*ceCF encodes partial c and partial e but not CELO, an antigen antithetical to Crawford.
BACKGROUND
RH43 (Crawford) is encoded by RHCE*ce with nucleotide changes 48G>C, 697C>G, and 733C>G (RHCE*ceCF). We investigated the Rh antigen expression and antibody specificities in four patients with this allele.


METHODS
Hemagglutination tests, DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism, allele-specific PCR, reticulocyte RNA isolation, reverse transcription-PCR cDNA analyses, cloning, and sequencing were performed by standard procedures.


RESULTS
Red blood cells (RBCs) from two patients typed D+C-E-c+e+/-, hrS-/+W, hrB- and their serum was reactive (3+) with all RBC samples of common Rh phenotype tested, but nonreactive with Rhnull or D-- RBCs (apparent alloanti-Rh17). At the RHCE locus, Patient 1 was homozygous for RHCE*ceCF, and Patient 2 inherited RHCE*ceCF in trans to a silenced RHCE*cE. Cross-testing of serum and RBCs from these two samples showed mutual compatibility, indicating that both antibodies define the same novel high-prevalence antigen on Rhce. Two additional patients, one whose serum contained alloanti-c but the RBCs typed C+c+ and one whose serum contained anti-e but the RBCs typed E+e+, also had RHCE*ceCF. RHCE*Ce was present in trans in the former and RHCE*cE in the latter patient.


CONCLUSIONS
We report that amino acid changes on RhceCF (Trp16Cys, Gln233Glu, and Leu245Val) alter the protein to the extent that c and e antigens are partial, and a high-prevalence antigen, we have named CELO (provisional ISBT Number 004058; RH58) is not expressed. CELO is antithetical to RH43 (Crawford).
Hipsky
Christine Halter
CH
Laboratories of Immunohematology and Immunochemistry, New York Blood Center, New York, New York 10065, USA.
Lomas-Francis
Christine
C
Fuchisawa
Akiko
A
Reid
Marion E
ME
Moulds
Marilyn
M
Christensen
Joann
J
Nickle
Pam
P
Vege
Sunitha
S
Westhoff
Connie
C
D000328:Adult; D001789:Blood Group Antigens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006384:Hemagglutination; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
D001789:Blood Group Antigens; C066468:RHCE protein, human; D012204:Rh-Hr Blood-Group System