Structure of the gene for the F allele of complement receptor type 1 and sequence of the coding region unique to the S allele.

The genes for human complement receptor type 1 (CR1) F and S alleles have been cloned and span a region of 133-160 kb on chromosome 1. The F allele was found to comprise 39 exons and the S allele contains an additional 8 exons. The leader sequence and 5'-untranslated region are contained in one exon. Each of the long homologous repeats (LHR), which contain seven short consensus repeats (SCR), is composed of 8 exons. Within a LHR, SCR 1, 5, and 7 are each encoded by a single exon, SCR 2 and 6 are each encoded by 2 exons, and a single exon codes for SCR 3 and 4. The transmembrane region is encoded by 2 exons and the cytoplasmic domain and the 3'-untranslated regions are coded for by separate exons. The sequences of the eight S allele-specific exons were very similar to those from LHR-A and -B, as was predicted by comparison of the genomic restriction maps. It had previously been suggested that the alleles of CR1 have arisen by a mechanism of unequal crossover. A comparison of intron sequences from LHR-A, -B, -C, and -S revealed data that support this hypothesis. The homologies of intron sequences from LHR-A, -B, and -C indicated that the crossover event between LHR-A and -C that gave rise to LHR-B probably occurred within the fourth exon of these LHR. Likewise, the crossover event between LHR-A and -B that produced LHR-S probably occurred within a 383 bp region around the sixth exon. Analysis of RNA from peripheral blood cells by the S1 nuclease assay indicated that the transcription start site is 111 bp upstream of the translation initiation codon ATG. The 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends confirmed this position as a transcription start site and revealed another possible start site 29 bp further upstream.