# STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE I REGION GENES

> **NIH NIH R01** · SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE · 1990 · $217,265

## Abstract

The Class II major histocompatibility antigens play a central role
in the development of an immune response.  These molecules
interact with antigen and are recognized by T helper cells in a
very specific manner.  They are expressed on a variety of cells
but most notably B lymphocytes and macrophages.  The B
lymphocytes constitutively express Class II molecules, while
macrophages normally do not synthesize, but can be induced to
express them by treating the cells with interferon-gamma.  The
projects described in this proposal are aimed at understanding the
cell specific and interferon-gamma regulated expression of Class
II genes.

The first specific aim is to identify cis acting DNA sequences
within flanking the I-A beta gene which are responsible for the
regulated expression of I-A beta.  One of the primary goals is to
identify the cis acting upstream regulatory elements which are
responsible for the regulation of I-A beta gene expression by
interferon-gamma.  Another goal is to identify the enhancer
associated with the I-A beta gene.

The second specific aim is to identify and characterize
transcription factors which are necessary for I-A beta gene
expression.  Those factors which are responsible for the cell type
specificity of expression or modulate I-A beta gene expression in
response to interferon-gamma treatment will be searched for.
These transcription factors will be characterized in an in vitro
transcription assay.  Partial purification of these factors should
help to identify their importance in the transcription of MHC
class II genes.  To complement the work using in vitro
transcription we also propose to select mutants that are deficient
in class II gene transcription for further characterization.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3129706
- **Project number:** 5R01AI020194-06
- **Recipient organization:** SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE
- **SAM.gov UEI:** PHMKYKKJLQS1
- **Principal Investigator:** RICHARD A MAKI
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1990
- **Award amount:** $217,265
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1984-04-01 → 1991-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3129706

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3129706, STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE I REGION GENES (5R01AI020194-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-24 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3129706. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*