Abstract
REJECTION of male skin grafts by female mice of the same inbred strain is due to male-specific (H-Y) antigen1,2 (review3). As the only functions so far definitely traced to the Y chromosome are concerned with sex determination, a question arises as to whether the expression of H-Y antigen on male cells is secondary to development of the male phenotype, or whether a gene (or genes) on the Y chromosome specifies H-Y antigen (either directly or under regulation of an autosomal locus) independently of other sex-related characteristics. The fact that H-Y antigen is found on all male tissues that have been tested, rather than being restricted to sex-related tissues3,4, is perhaps an indication that it is not directly concerned with the attributes of male sexuality. Its appearance on male but not on female cells might instead be a fortuitous consequence of the lack of crossing over between the X and Y chromosomes; in this case, any change in cell surface antigenicity brought about by mutation of genes on the Y chromosome would automatically be transmitted only to males.
Published Version
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