HGNC Approved Gene Symbol: CD52
Cytogenetic location: 1p36.11 Genomic coordinates (GRCh38): 1:26,317,958-26,320,523 (from NCBI)
The CAMPATH-1 family of monoclonal antibodies recognize an antigen expressed on human lymphocytes and monocytes. The antigen is an unusually good target for complement-mediated attack and, for this reason, the IgM antibody, CAMPATH-1M, has been widely used for removal of T lymphocytes from donor bone marrow to prevent graft-vs-host disease. Because the target antigen is expressed in most cases of lymphoid malignancy, serotherapy of lymphoma and leukemia with CAMPATH-1 antibodies has also been attempted. A human IgG1 antibody (CAMPATH-1H) was constructed by genetic engineering. It could be administered for longer periods than the rat antibody and produced better clinical results. Xia et al. (1991) purified the CAMPATH-1 antigen from human spleen. Experiments with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C indicated that the antigen is anchored by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Xia et al. (1991) isolated cDNA clones and deduced the full amino acid sequence: 37 amino acid residues plus a 24-residue signal peptide. Why the antigen is such a good target for cell lysis in vitro and in vivo was not clear.
By in situ hybridization analysis, Krull et al. (1993) found that HE5 (human epididymis-5), the peptide backbone of CDW52, is highly expressed in the distal corpus epididymis and in the vas deferens.
Krull, N., Ivell, R., Osterhoff, C., Kirchhoff, C. Region-specific variation of gene expression in the human epididymis as revealed by in situ hybridization with tissue-specific cDNAs. Molec. Reprod. Dev. 34: 16-24, 1993. [PubMed: 8418812] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1002/mrd.1080340104]
Xia, M.-Q., Tone, M., Packman, L., Hale, G., Waldmann, H. Characterization of the CAMPATH1 (CDw52) antigen: biochemical analysis and cDNA cloning reveal an unusually small peptide backbone. Europ. J. Immun. 21: 1677-1684, 1991. [PubMed: 1711975] [Full Text: https://doi.org/10.1002/eji.1830210714]