Human complement regulatory proteins expressed on mouse A9 cells containing a human chromosome 1

The structural genes of human complement regulatory proteins are clustered on chromosome 1 at position q3.2. Human chromosome 1 was transferred into a mouse fibroblast cell line, A9 [designated as A9(neo-1)], and the surface expression of its gene products participating in complement regulation, namely C3b/C4b receptor (CR1, CD35), decay-accelerating factor (DAF, CD55), membrane co-factor protein (MCP, CD46) and C3d/EB virus receptor (CR2, CD21), were assessed using respective monoclonal antibodies by flow cytometry. CR1 became positive within 7 days of culture. MCP appeared in a small population of cells by Day 3 and, together with DAF, began to increase on Day 7. CR2 appeared on Day 14. The order of the expression was CR1 greater than DAF = MCP greater than CR2. On Day 42, however, all became negative except for MCP, which was markedly diminished. These human regulatory proteins were specifically associated with the presence of human chromosome 1, since none of them were expressed on human chromosome 12-transferred A9 cells [A9(neo-12)]. Intact A9 and A9(neo-12) cells activated human complement via the alternative pathway. The activation of this pathway was suppressed in the A9(neo-1) cells that expressed CR1, DAF and MCP. Slight protective activity was still observed in the 42-day cultured A9(neo-1) cells expressing only trace MCP. These results suggest that human complement regulators, expressed via the transferred human chromosome 1, can protect heterologous cells from complement, overcoming their ability to activate the human alternative pathway.