Transcripts of human HLA gene fragments lacking the 5'-terminal region in transfected mouse cells.

Clones of mouse L cells transfected with a human HLA-B7 gene fragment lacking the 5' segment of exon 2 and all upstream sequences express HLA-specific transcripts of various lengths. These include species that correspond in size to full-length HLA-B7 mRNA. The level of these transcripts is increased in cells treated with interferon. It is probable that the full-length transcripts arise as a result of the linkage of the HLA-B7 gene fragments with DNA segments providing transcription initiation or polyadenylylation signals.