Comparative structural analysis of HLA-A2 antigens distinguishable by cytotoxic T lymphocytes: variants M7 and DR1.

Comparative primary structural analyses have begun to elucidate polymorphic residues and segments of the class I antigens of the major histocompatibility complex, at least some of which presumably contribute to determinants important in immune recognition events. HLA-A2 structural variants have been described which are serologically indistinguishable from other HLA-A2 antigens, yet which can be recognized neither by HLA-A2 specific alloimmune nor by HLA-A2 restricted, virus immune cytotoxic T lymphocytes. This study utilizes double-label tryptic peptide comparisons in combination with both conventional and microsequence analyses to investigate the structure of two such variants, M7 and DR1. We find that these variants are identical with each other and differ from the predominant HLA-A2 heavy chain species by a glutamine to arginine substitution at residue 43, by an unidentified substitution in the tryptic peptide spanning residues 147-157, and by an as yet poorly defined alteration in glycosylation. Structural information from these and other variants should be useful in precisely defining functionally important determinants on the molecule.