Dcw. Russo et al., TOPOLOGY OF KELL BLOOD-GROUP PROTEIN AND THE EXPRESSION OF MULTIPLE ANTIGENS BY TRANSFECTED CELLS, Blood, 84(10), 1994, pp. 3518-3523
Kell is one of the major blood group systems in human red blood cells
(RBCs). The Kell antigens are carried on a 731 amino acid glycoprotein
that is thought to span the erythrocyte membrane once. Rabbit antibod
ies to three synthetic peptides, derived from different parts of the K
ell protein, were used to determine the topology of Kell protein on th
e RBC. Antibodies to a C-terminal peptide and to a peptide derived fro
m amino acid residues 410 to 439 reacted with RBCs treated with 0.2 mo
l/L dithiothreitol. An antibody to the N-terminal peptide reacted with
inside-out RBC vesicles but not with right-side-out vesicles nor with
intact RBCs, showing that Kell is a type II membrane protein and that
the extracellular portion of the protein is folded by disulfide bonds
. By transfection, Kell protein was expressed on the cell surface of s
urrogate cells, and the transfected cells expressed similar antigenic
properties as native RBCs. Kelt protein was expressed in COS-1 and K56
2 cells and in Sf9 cells infected by the Baculovirus system. Transfect
ed K562 cells expressed several high-incidence antigens but not the lo
w-incidence antigen K1. (C) 1994 by The American Society of Hematology
.