Two classes of CD1 genes.

Herein, we report the DNA sequence of two human CD1 genes, R2 and R3, distinct from those encoding the CD1a, -b and -c antigens. Both genes appear to have an exon/intron structure analogous to the previously analyzed CD1 genes and to be functional on the basis of their sequence. Analysis of the variability patterns, potential intramolecular interactions and predicted secondary structure profile on an alignment of all known CD1 alpha chains suggest some shared structural features with major histocompatibility complex class I molecules in the alpha 1 domains but substantial differences in the alpha 2 domains. Sequence comparison shows that, while R2 is most related to CD1a, -b and -c, albeit to a somewhat lower degree than the latter are to themselves, R3 is more homologous to mouse than to human CD1, suggesting the existence of two functional classes within the CD1 gene family. We propose to retain the non-committal R2 and R3 names until the putative antigens have been identified and their tissue distribution has been established.