Nucleotide sequence of the human autoantibody 2E7 specific for the platelet integrin IIb heavy chain

The platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa complex figures prominently as an immunogen in autoimmune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). 2E7 is a human monoclonal IgM autoantibody, derived from splenocytes of a patient with ITP, that recognizes a specific octapeptide amino acid sequence, Phe-Asp-Gly-Tyr-Trp-Gly-Tyr-Ser, on the heavy chain of GPIIb. This represents the first precise identification of an epitope on GPIIb-IIIa recognized by a human antibody. In this study, we have isolated total mRNA from 2E7, synthesized the corresponding cDNA using reverse transcriptase, and amplified the immunoglobulin mu and kappa chain cDNA by the Taq 1 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. The 2E7 mu chain variable region is encoded by a VH3 gene segment that is 98% homologous to the germline gene VH1.9III, a D-gene that is not homologous to any of the germline D-genes reported to date, and a JH6 gene segment that is essentially germline. The heavy-chain sequence, save for the unique D-gene, is similar to that of a number of human autoantibodies. The 2E7 kappa variable region is encoded by a Vk1 gene segment linked to a Jk1 gene segment. The Vk1 sequence of 2E7, with the exception of one nucleotide, is identical to that of autoantibody HF2-1/17, a prototype of SLE-associated anti-DNA autoantibodies bearing the 16/6 idiotype. The single base substitution results in a relatively conservative exchange of Asp for Glu at position 70 of the protein sequence. Despite this near identity in sequence, 2E7 does not bind to either single-stranded or double-stranded DNA. From these results, we conclude that specificity of 2E7 is likely to reside in either or both the D-JH region (CDR3) of the mu chain and the Jk region (CDR3) of the kappa chain. In addition to the identification of a novel D-gene, we also provide evidence that the 2E7 VHIII gene is probably a prototype of a VHIII subfamily, that the germline Vk1 gene shared by 2E7 and autoantibodies of the 16/6 idiotype probably represents a separate Vk family, and that this Vk gene cannot itself attribute specificity for DNA.