Blood group Rh(CE) polypeptide is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''RHCE''
gene
In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
.
RHCE has also recently been designated CD240CE (
cluster of differentiation
The cluster of differentiation (also known as cluster of designation or classification determinant and often abbreviated as CD) is a protocol used for the identification and investigation of cell surface molecules providing targets for immunophe ...
240CE).
The Rh
blood group
A blood type (also known as a blood group) is based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycoli ...
system is the second most clinically significant of the blood groups, second only to ABO. It is also the most polymorphic of the blood groups, with variations due to deletions, gene conversions, and missense mutations. The Rh blood group includes this gene which encodes both the RhC and RhE antigens on a single polypeptide and a second gene which encodes the RhD protein. The classification of Rh-positive and Rh-negative individuals is determined by the presence or absence of the highly immunogenic RhD protein on the surface of erythrocytes. Alternative splicing of this gene results in four transcript variants encoding four different isoforms.
A recent study in the population of the island of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
shows the association of a
noncoding
Non-coding DNA (ncDNA) sequences are components of an organism's DNA that do not encode protein sequences. Some non-coding DNA is transcribed into functional non-coding RNA molecules (e.g. transfer RNA, microRNA, piRNA, ribosomal RNA, and regula ...
variant in the RHCE gene (rs630337) with an increased
erythrocyte sedimentation rate
The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate) is the rate at which red blood cells in anticoagulated whole blood descend in a standardized tube over a period of one hour. It is a common hematology test, and is a non-specific measure of in ...
(ESR). This suggest a possible causal effect of this
polymorphism on this inflammatory marker despite not found in coding region of the gene.
References
Further reading
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External links
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Clusters of differentiation
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