HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Maës, J. Articles by Goodhardt, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Maës, J. Articles by Goodhardt, M.

Secondary V(D)J Rearrangements and B Cell Receptor-Mediated Down-Regulation of Recombination Activating Gene-2 Expression in a Murine B Cell Line¹

Jérôme Maës^*, Yael Caspi, François Rougeon^*, Joseph Haimovich^2, and Michele Goodhardt^*

^* Unité de Génétique et Biochimie du Développement, Department of Immunology, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; and Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel

It has recently become clear that recombination of Ig genes is not restricted to B cell precursors but that secondary rearrangements can also occur under certain conditions in phenotypically immature bone marrow and peripheral B cells. However, the nature of these cells and the regulation of secondary V(D)J recombination in response to B cell receptor (BCR) stimulation remain controversial. In the present study, we have analyzed secondary light chain gene rearrangements and recombination activating gene (RAG) expression in the surface IgM⁺, IgD^- murine B cell line, 38C-13, which has previously been found to undergo light chain replacement. We find that 38C-13 cells undergo spontaneous secondary V-J and RS rearrangements in culture, with recombination occurring on both productive and nonproductive alleles. Both 38C-13 cells and the Id-negative variants express the RAG genes, indicating that the presence of RAG does not depend on activation via the 38C-13 BCR. Moreover, BCR cross-linking in 38C-13 cells leads to a rapid and reversible down-regulation of RAG2 mRNA. Therefore, 38C-13 cells resemble peripheral IgM⁺, IgD^- B cells undergoing light chain gene rearrangement and provide a possible in vitro model for studying peripheral V(D)J recombination.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Zhou, O. V. Ermakova, R. Riblet, B. K. Birshtein, and C. L. Schildkraut Replication and Subnuclear Location Dynamics of the Immunoglobulin Heavy-Chain Locus in B-Lineage Cells Mol. Cell. Biol., July 1, 2002; 22(13): 4876 - 4889. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Meffre, M. Chiorazzi, and M. C. Nussenzweig Circulating Human B Cells That Express Surrogate Light Chains Display a Unique Antibody Repertoire J. Immunol., August 15, 2001; 167(4): 2151 - 2156. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]