Major Histocompatibility Complex class II (MHC-II) deficiency is a disease of gene regulation that provides a unique opportunity for the genetic dissection of the molecular mechanisms controlling transcription of MHC-II genes. Cell lines from MHC-II deficiency patients have been assigned to three complementation groups (A, B and C) believed to reflect the existence of distinct essential MHC-II regulatory genes. Groups B and C, as well as an in vitro generated regulatory mutant representing a fourth group (D), are characterized by a specific defect in the binding activity of RFX, a multimeric DNA binding complex that is essential for activation of MHC-II promoters, RFX5, a subunit of RFX, was recently shown to be mutated in group C. We have now isolated a novel gene, RFXAP (RFX Associated Protein), that encodes a second subunit of the RFX complex, RFXAP is mutated in the 6.1.6 cell line (group D), as well as in an MHC-II deficiency patient (DA). This establishes that group D is indeed a fourth MHC-II deficiency complementation group. Complementation of the 6.1.6 and DA cell lines by transfection with RFXAP fully restores expression of all endogenous MHC-II genes in vivo, demonstrating that RFXAP is a novel essential MHC-II regulatory gene.
CITATION STYLE
Durand, B., Sperisen, P., Emery, P., Barras, E., Zufferey, M., Mach, B., & Reith, W. (1997). RFXAP, a novel subunit of the RFX DNA binding complex is mutated in MHC class II deficiency. EMBO Journal, 16(5), 1045–1055. https://doi.org/10.1093/emboj/16.5.1045
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