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High frequency of somatically mutated IgM molecules in the human adult blood B cell repertoire
Author(s) -
Van Es Johan H.,
Meyling Frits H. J. Gmeli,
Logtenberg Ton
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
european journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.272
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1521-4141
pISSN - 0014-2980
DOI - 10.1002/eji.1830221046
Subject(s) - biology , repertoire , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , acoustics , physics
Abstract Nucleotide sequence analysis of cDNA encoded by the single member of the human immunoglobulin V H 6 gene family show that blood B cells in adults, but not in neonates, frequently express somatically mutated IgM molecules. The number of mutations in V H 6‐encoded cDNA from adult blood ranged from 2 to 19 mutations/V H gene (average 10.1/V H gene). The distribution of silent and replacement mutations suggests that at least some of the V H 6 genes were derived from B cells that were activated and selected by antigen. We conclude that the blood B cell repertoire in adult humans, in contrast to its much‐studied murine splenic counterpart, is a rich source of highly mutated IgM molecules.