Premature stop codons inactivate the RT6 genes of the human and chimpanzee species.

RT6 is a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol-anchored cell membrane protein, whose expression is restricted to peripheral T cells and intraepithelial lymphocytes. It has attracted interest as a T cell differentiation marker and activation antigen in rats. The only known protein to which RT6 shows significant homology is a recently cloned mono(ADP-ribosyl)transferase of rabbit skeletal muscle which is distantly related also to certain bacterial toxins.

BglII identifies a frequent biallelic DNA polymorphism of the human RT6 gene.

A genomic probe of the human RT6 gene detects a frequent biallelic BglII polymorphism. Allele A has a frequency of 63%, whereas that of allele B is 37%. This restriction fragment length polymorphism provides the first known genetic marker for this gene.

Loss of RT6 message and most circulating T cells after thymectomy of diabetes prone BB rats.

T cells expressing the RT6 surface alloantigen perform important immunoregulatory functions in the rat. Diabetes prone (DP) BB rats are deficient in circulating RT6+ T cells and develop spontaneous autoimmune diabetes mellitus. Transfusions leading to engraftment of RT6+ T cells prevent the disease.

Assignment of the human RT6 gene to 11q13 by PCR screening of somatic cell hybrids and in situ hybridization.

RT6 is a T cell membrane protein that has attracted interest because a defect in RT6 expression is associated with susceptibility to autoimmune type I diabetes in DP-BB rats and NOD mice. Using PCR screening of human/rodent somatic cell hybrids and fluorescence in situ hybridization, we have determined that the gene for the human RT6 homologue is located at 11q13, centromeric to the gene for tyrosinase (TYR, albino locus) and telomeric to that for fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4). The data suggest that the human RT6 gene constitutes a new linkage group with TYR and the gene for olfactory marker protein (OMP) on 11q, which has a counterpart in mouse chromosome 7.

An RT6a gene is transcribed and translated in lymphopenic diabetes-prone BB rats.

T-cells expressing the RT6 surface alloantigen appear to perform important immunoregulatory functions in the rat. Diabetes-prone BB rats lack circulating RT6+ T-cells and spontaneously develop autoimmune diabetes mellitus and thyroiditis. The coisogenic diabetes-resistant BB rat does circulate RT6+ T-cells and is free of disease.