Structural analysis of HLA-A2 antigen from immunoselected mutant 8.6.1: further definition of an HLA-A2-specific...

The HLA-A2 mutant cell line 8.6.1 was isolated previously from the lymphoblastoid B cell line T5-1 (HLA-A1, -A2, -B8, and -B27) by immunoselection with the mouse HLA-A2-specific monoclonal antibody BB7.2 and complement. The HLA-A2 molecules synthesized by 8.6.1 do not react with either the selecting antibody or with a second HLA-A2-specific monoclonal antibody, PA2.1. In this study, HLA-A2 heavy chains derived from 8.6.1 and those from the parent T5-1 cells have been analyzed by double-labeled tryptic peptide mapping by using reverse-phase HPLC, cation exchange chromatography, and microsequence analysis. We detect only a single difference between these molecules: 8.6.1 HLA-A2 differs from T5-1 HLA-A2 by the substitution of lysine for glutamic acid at position 161. This result is consistent with data derived from other immunoselected mutants, which implicate the second heavy chain domain (alpha 2) in the expression of the PA2.1 and BB7.2 epitopes, and suggests a crucial role for glutamic acid at position 161 in the formation of an HLA-A2-specific determinant.