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Updated: Nov 11, 2025

In Vivo Modeling of the Morbid Human Genome using Danio rerio
Published on: August 24, 2013
Inherited glycosylphosphatidylinositol defects cause the rare Emm-negative blood phenotype and developmental
Romain Duval1,2,3,4, Gaël Nicolas4,5, Alexandra Willemetz1,2,3,4
1Université de Paris, Unité Mixte de Recherche en Santé (UMR_S) 1134, Biologie Intégrée du Globule Rouge (BIGR), INSERM, Paris, France.
Abstract:
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) is a glycolipid that anchors >150 proteins to the cell surface. Pathogenic variants in several genes that participate in GPI biosynthesis cause inherited GPI deficiency disorders. Here, we reported that homozygous null alleles of PIGG, a gene involved in GPI modification, are responsible for the rare Emm-negative blood phenotype. Using a panel of K562 cells defective in both the GPI-transamidase and GPI remodeling pathways, we show that the Emm antigen, whose molecular basis has remained unknown for decades, is carried only by free GPI and that its epitope is composed of the second and third ethanolamine of the GPI backbone. Importantly, we show that the decrease in Emm expression in several inherited GPI deficiency patients is indicative of GPI defects. Overall, our findings establish Emm as a novel blood group system, and they have important implications for understanding the biological function of human free GPI.
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