Alternative titles; symbols
HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: IFNR
Cytogenetic location: Chr.16 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38): 16:1-90,338,345
Interferon-gamma (147570) induces expression of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-encoded antigens in immunocompetent cells. To gain further insight into the mechanism of this induction, Bono et al. (1991) prepared somatic cell hybrids between different human cell lines and a murine cell line, RAG, that does not express murine class II MHC antigens before or after treatment with murine interferon-gamma. Some of the resulting cell hybrids expressed murine class II MHC antigens when treated with murine interferon-gamma. This inducible phenotype was correlated with the presence of human chromosome 16. It was previously shown that induction of class I MHC antigens by human interferon-gamma in human-rodent hybrids required the presence of species-specific factors encoded by chromosome 6, which bears the gene for the human IFN-gamma receptor (107470), and chromosome 21, whose product or products are necessary for the transduction of human IFN-gamma signals (147569). Bono et al. (1991) also showed that the induction of murine class II MHC antigens by human IFN-gamma in human-RAG cell hybrids required the presence of human chromosomes 6 and 21, in addition to chromosome 16. In some of these hybrids, when all 3 of these human chromosomes were present, induction of cell-surface HLA-DR antigens was also observed. Thus, chromosome 16 encodes a nonspecies-specific factor involved in the induction of class II MHC antigens by IFN-gamma.
(Strictly speaking, 'murine' refers to the rodent family Muridae, which includes both rats and mice. By common practice, however, the term is used almost exclusively for mice.)
Bono, M. R., Alcaide-Loridan, C., Couillin, P., Letouze, B., Grisard, M. C., Jouin, H., Fellous, M. Human chromosome 16 encodes a factor involved in induction of class II major histocompatibility antigens by interferon gamma. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 88: 6077-6081, 1991. [PubMed: 1906174] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.88.14.6077]