The BioGRID | PUBLICATION VIEW

	Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. Dec (2002); 99(25):16180-5
Disulfide bond-mediated dimerization of HLA-G on the cell surface.
Boyson JE, Erskine R, Whitman MC, Chiu M, Lau JM, Koopman LA, Valter MM, Angelisova P, Horejsi V, Strominger JL
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; and Institute of Molecular Genetics, 142 20 Prague, Czech Republic.
Abstract: HLA-G is a nonclassical class I MHC molecule with an unknown function and with unusual characteristics that distinguish it from other class I MHC molecules. Here, we demonstrate that HLA-G forms disulfide-linked dimers that are present on the cell surface. Immunoprecipitation of HLA-G from surface biotinylated transfectants using the anti-beta2-microglobulin mAb BBM.1 revealed the presence of an approximately equal 78-kDa form of HLA-G heavy chain that was reduced by using DTT to a 39-kDa form. Mutation of Cys-42 to a serine completely abrogated dimerization of HLA-G, suggesting that the disulfide linkage formed exclusively through this residue. A possible interaction between the HLA-G monomer or dimer and the KIR2DL4 receptor was also investigated, but no interaction between these molecules could be detected through several approaches. The cell-surface expression of dimerized HLA-G molecules may have implications for HLA-Greceptor interactions and for the search for specific receptors that bind HLA-G.
[PUBMED: 12454284]