OnCo

CD74 (HLA class II histocompatibility antigen gamma chain) is a gene. The public catalogues list it as a drug target and a fusion partner, and an approved or late-stage drug is recorded against it. Tied to Lung cancer and Non-small-cell lung cancer. This dossier gathers the 0 products (0 approved), 0 trials, 0 pathways and 0 resistance routes in the corpus that involve it, with external identifiers so it can be joined to UniProt, ChEMBL, Open Targets and the rest of biology.

Biology

Plays a critical role in MHC class II antigen processing by stabilising peptide-free class II alpha/beta heterodimers in a complex soon after their synthesis and directing transport of the complex from the endoplasmic reticulum to the endosomal/lysosomal system where the antigen processing and binding of antigenic peptides to MHC class II takes place. Serves as cell surface receptor for the cytokine MIF. Binds to the peptide-binding site of MHC class II alpha/beta heterodimers forming an alpha-beta-CLIP complex, thereby preventing the loading of antigenic peptides to the MHC class II complex until its release by HLA-DM in the endosome. Stabilises the conformation of mature CTSL by binding to its active site and serving as a chaperone to help maintain a pool of mature enzyme in endocytic compartments and extracellular space of antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Has antiviral activity by stymieing the endosomal entry of Ebola virus and coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Disrupts cathepsin-mediated Ebola virus glycoprotein processing, which prevents viral fusion and entry. Location: Cell membrane; Endoplasmic reticulum membrane; Golgi apparatus, trans-Golgi network; Endosome (UniProt). Locus 5q33.1 (HGNC).

Where it is found
  • Lung cancer: Open Targets association 0.70 with lung cancer (MONDO_0008903)
  • Non-small-cell lung cancer: Open Targets association 0.68 with non-small cell lung carcinoma (MONDO_0005233)
Class: other · Gene: CD74 · Facts checked 2026-09-23 · Target page

External identifiers

Built from HGNC, Ensembl, UniProt and ChEMBL ids

Products by modality and phase

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Resistance routes

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Companion diagnostics

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Preclinical models

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Literature

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Query for this target: (TITLE:"CD74" OR ABSTRACT:"CD74" OR TITLE:"CD74 molecule" OR ABSTRACT:"CD74 molecule" OR TITLE:"HLA class II histocompatibility antigen gamma chain" OR ABSTRACT:"HLA class II histocompatibility antigen gamma chain" OR TITLE:"DHLAG" OR ABSTRACT:"DHLAG") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about CD74, not a curated reading list.

Export

The dossier as machine-readable JSON: identifiers from HGNC, Ensembl, UniProt and ChEMBL, products with status, trials, pathways, hotspots, open questions and assays. The full entity record is in the open API at /api/v1/entities/cd74.json. Licence CC BY-NC 4.0.