RESTRICTION-FRAGMENT-LENGTH-POLYMORPHISM (RFLP) OF 2 HLA-B-ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPTS (BATS) GENES IN HEALTHY DANES

Abstract: The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the two human HLA‐B‐associated transcripts (BATs) genes, BATl and BAT2, was investigated using 5 different restriction enzymes and two human BATl and BAT2 cDNA probes. Two of the enzymes, NcoI and RsaI, revealed polymorphic patterns which were investigated in healthy Danes. The cDNA/restriction enzyme combination BATl/NcoI identifies polymorphic bands at 12 kb, 8 kb, 2.5 kb, and 1.1 kb, while the BAT2/RsaI combination identifies polymorphic bands at 3.3 kb, 2.7 kb, 2.3 kb, and 0.9 kb. The frequencies of these markers were determined in 90 unrelated Danes. Co‐dominant segregation and allelic behavior was seen for the BATl/NcoI 12 kb and 8 kb bands and the BAT2/RsaI 2.7 kb and 2.3 kb bands, respectively. It is possible that the BAT2IRsaI 3.3 kb band represents a rare allele of the BAT2/RsaI system. The BAT2/RsaI 2.3 kb marker was strongly negatively associated with HLA‐B8 and HLA‐DR3 while there were no strong associations between the BATl and BAT2 markers, but the BAT2/RsaI 2.7 kb marker was strongly positively associated with the TNFα/NcoI 5.5 kb marker, which in turn is positively associated with HLA‐B8 and HLA‐DR3. The negative associations between the BAT2/Rsa1 2.3 kb marker and HLA‐B8 and HLA‐DR3 raise the question as to whether this BAT allele may play a role in protecting against certain autoimmune diseases. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved