0000000000330229
AUTHOR
James M. Sodetz
The eighth component of human complement: molecular basis of C8A (C81) polymorphism.
Using an exon-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by direct DNA sequence analysis we have analyzed the polymorphism of the alpha-chain of the eighth component of human complement (C8) at the DNA level. We found that two common alleles, C8A*A and C8A*B, are characterized by the substitution of a single amino acid (Gln to Lys), which is caused by a point mutation of a single nucleotide (C to A) in exon 3 at position 187 of the mature C8 alpha cDNA sequence. Based on this mutation, an allele-specific PCR was designed detecting the two alleles of C8A. We applied this method to type the C8A polymorphism using DNA samples from a Chinese Han population. The comparison with the data o…
DNA polymorphism of the human complement C8 beta gene: formal genetics and intragenic localization.
The eighth component of human complement consists of three subunits of different molecular mass, which are coded for by three separate genetic loci. Polymorphisms have been described at the protein level for the alpha and beta subunits by means of sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. Using a full-length human C8 beta cDNA probe, we have studied more than 100 individuals by Southern blot analysis to detect DNA polymorphisms. We have found two restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) with the enzymes Taq I and Bam HI. The Taq I polymorphism is defined by two alleles, i.e., a single 4.9 kb fragment or two 2.8/2.1 kb fragments. The allele frequencies are…