SERF: a new antigen in the Cromer blood group system

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Abstract
Summary.  The Cromer blood group system consists of eight high incidence and three low incidence antigens carried on decay‐accelerating factor (DAF). This report describes the identification and characterization of a new Cromer high incidence antigen, named SERF.Sequence analyses of DNA from a Thai female whose serum contained the alloantibody to a high incidence antigen in the Cromer blood group system (anti‐SERF) and from her two children were performed. Reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and sequence analysis on cDNA from the proband and PCR‐restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis on DNA from Thais were also performed. To map the epitope, DAF deletion mutants were tested by immunoblotting with anti‐SERF.Sequence analysis revealed a substitution of 647C>T in exon 5 DAF in the proband. The proband's two children and two of 100 Thais were heterozygotes 647C/T. Analysis using DAF deletion mutants revealed the antigenic determinant to be within short consensus repeat 3 (SCR3), which is encoded by exon 5.This study describes a novel high incidence antigen (SERF) in the Cromer blood group system characterized by the amino acid proline at position 182 in SCR3 of DAF. The SERF‐negative proband has a substitution mutation that predicts for leucine at this position. SERF has been provisionally assigned the International Society of Blood Transfusion number 021·012 (CROM 12).