The Kell antigen system (also known as the Kell–Cellano system) is a human blood group system, that is, a group of antigens on the human red blood cell surface which are important determinants of blood type and are targets for autoimmune or alloimmune diseases which destroy red blood cells. The Kell antigens are K, k, Kpa, Kpb, Jsa and Jsb.[1] The Kell antigens are peptides found within the Kell protein, a 93-kilodalton transmembrane zinc-dependent endopeptidase which is responsible for cleaving endothelin-3.[2][3]
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- ^ Lee S, Lin M, Mele A, Cao Y, Farmar J, Russo D, Redman C (August 1999). "Proteolytic processing of big endothelin-3 by the kell blood group protein". Blood. 94 (4): 1440–50. doi:10.1182/blood.V94.4.1440. PMID 10438732. Archived from the original on 2013-04-14.