Open AccessThree lymphoid-specific factors account for all junctional diversity characteristic of somatic assembly of T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin genes.
Author(s) -
Sacha Kallenbach,
Noëlle Doyen,
Martine Fanton d’Andon,
François Rougeon
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.89.7.2799
Subject(s) - recombination activating gene , rag2 , biology , immunoglobulin gene , gene rearrangement , recombination signal sequences , gene , somatic cell , antibody , microbiology and biotechnology , transfection , coding region , genetics , recombination
The somatic diversity immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor diversity is largely provided by the junctional variation created during site-specific rearrangement of separately encoded gene segments. Using a transient transfection assay, we demonstrate that the recombination activating genes Rag1 and Rag2 direct site-specific rearrangement on an artificial substrate in poorly differentiated as well as in differentiated nonlymphoid cell lines. In addition to a high frequency of precise recombination events, coding joints show deletions and more rarely P-nucleotide insertions, reminiscent of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor junctions found in fetal tissues. N-region insertions, which are characteristic of adult junctional diversity, are obtained at high frequency upon transfection of a terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase expression vector together with Rag1 and Rag2. These results show that only three lymphoid-specific factors are needed to generate all types of junctional diversity observed during lymphoid development.