Interferon Alpha/Beta Receptor 2 (IFNa/bR2)

IFNAR2 was identified by several groups, including Novick et al. (1994), Lutfalla et al. (1995), and Domanski et al. (1995). Lutfalla et al. (1995) reported the structure of the IFNAR2 gene and showed that it is located at chromosome 21q22.1 in a cluster with the class II cytokine receptor genes CRFB4 (IL10RB), IFNAR1, and AF1. They found evidence for alternative splicing of the IFNAR2 gene and showed that one of the transcripts, ifnar2-2, could functionally complement the IFN-alpha/beta receptor-defective mutant U5A cell line. Raz et al. (1995) independently reported using human-hamster somatic cell hybrids to map IFNAR2 to 21q22.1. There was no significant difference in RNA expression of the F8 and S8 IFNAR2 variants, but FACS analysis demonstrated higher cell surface expression of the F8 variant.