The human D antigens, one of the most clinically important blood groups, are presented by RhD protein with a putative 12 transmembrane topology. To understand the molecular basis for the complex antigenic profile of RhD protein, we expressed a series of RhD fusion proteins using different portions of Duffy protein as a tag in erythroleukemic K562 cells. Because the reactivity of monoclonal anti-RhD antibody, LOR15C9, depends mainly on the sequence coded by exon 7 of RhD, we altered DNA sequence corresponding to the amino acid residues 323-331(A) and 350 -354(B) in the exon 7. The mutation in region B resulted in a severe reduction in LOR15C9 binding by flow cytometry analysis, suggesting that region B may play an important role in constituting antigen epitopes recognized by LOR15C9. On the other hand, a slight decrease in the antibody binding was observed for the region A mutant, suggesting that the intracellularly located region A may elicit a long distance effect on the formation of exofacial antigen epitopes. In addition, using various monoclonal antibodies against RhD, we compared the antigenic profile of expressed RhD fusion protein with that of endogenous RhD in K562 cells as well as in erythrocytes.As one of the most important blood group systems involved in blood transfusion and hemolytic disease, the Rh antigens are present on the erythrocyte surface as a complex including Rh30 proteins (RhD and RhCE) and Rh50 glycoprotein (see recent reviews in Refs. 1 and 2). Hartel-Schenk and Agre (3) first demonstrated that the Rh polypeptides migrated through sucrose gradients as a complex with an apparent M r of 170,000. Based on proteolytic digestion and immunoblotting, Eyers et al. (4) proposed a model that consists of two of each Rh30 and Rh50 molecules, with their N-terminal portions forming the core of the complex. The genes encoding RhD and RhCE are located at chromosome 1p34-p36 (5), whereas RH50 gene is at chromosome 6p11-21 (6). These three genes share not only a similar exon-intron composition but also homology in their deduced amino acid sequences (92% identity between RhD and RhCE, and 36% identity between Rh30 and Rh50) (2). Therefore, it appears that all three of these molecules belong to a family of structurally related membrane proteins.The multiprotein complex provides the basis for enormously complicated D antigenic epitopes, which have been serologically classified into nine epitopes, epD1 to epD9 (7). Most of the information regarding the molecular basis for D epitopes has been derived from genetic analysis of RhD variants where part of the RhD gene is missing or replaced by the highly homologous RhCE sequence (2). Thus, D VI phenotype, characterized as lack of epD1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8, contains rearranged RHD gene where its exons 4 -6 are replaced with RHCE equivalents (8). In D IVa phenotype that lacks epD 1, 2, 3, and 9, there is a rearrangement of exon 3 and part of exon 7 of the RHD gene (9). These observations suggest that serologically defined D epitopes are organized into overlapping m...