Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Invariant Chain (MHCDG)

In addition to functioning as an MHC class II chaperone, Cd74 was required for B-cell development in mice. B cells from mice lacking Cd74 had a low response to T-independent type II antigen and could not proliferate after mice were injected with antigen. Study of cell surface markers showed a developmental arrest that prevented immature virgin B cells from becoming mature B cells in the periphery. This block was independent of MHC class II expression and was an intrinsic feature of B cells that correlated with the amount of Cd74. Using immunohistochemical and confocal microscopy analyses, Schori et al. (2007) showed that transgenic mice that weakly expressed the p41 Cd74 isoform on an MHC I-Ab genetic background recovered better from central nervous system (CNS) injuries than did wildtype mice.