We have used immunoprecipitation with mAbs to probe folding during biosynthesis of the β
2 integrin subunit of lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1; CD11a/CD18) before and after association with the α
L subunit. An evolutionarily conserved region is present in the β
2 subunit between amino acid residues 102 and 344. mAbs to one subregion before the conserved region, and two subregions after the conserved domain, immunoprecipitated both the unassociated β′
2 precursor and mature α
L/β
2 complex, suggesting portions of these subregions are folded before association with α
L. An activating mAb to the C-terminal cysteine-rich region, KIM127, preferentially bound to the unassociated β subunit, suggesting that it may bind to an epitope that is in an αβ interface in unactivated LFA-1. By contrast, mAbs to five different epitopes in the conserved region did not react with unassociated β′
2 precursor, suggesting that this region folds after α
L association and is intimately associated with the α
L subunit in the α
L/β
2 complex. mAbs to two different epitopes that involve the border between the conserved region and the C-terminal segment, were fully or partially reactive with the β′
2 precursor, suggesting that this region is partially folded before association with α
L. The findings suggest that the conserved region is a distinct folding and hence structural unit, and is intimately associated with the α subunit.
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