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Rapid induction of transcription of unrearranged S gamma 1 switch regions in activated murine B cells by interleukin 4.
Author(s) -
Esser C.,
Radbruch A.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03401.x
Subject(s) - biology , immunoglobulin class switching , interleukin 4 , microbiology and biotechnology , transcription (linguistics) , lipopolysaccharide , transcription factor , antibody , immunology , genetics , cytokine , gene , b cell , linguistics , philosophy
The distribution of immunoglobulin isotypes in activated B lymphocytes can be modulated by interleukin 4 (IL4), which enhances IgG1 and suppresses IgG3. We show here that IL4 induces transcription of the region 5′ adjacent to the s gamma 1 switch region within hours after onset of activation of B cells by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Transcripts of 1.7 and 3.2 kb size containing sequences of the region 5′ of s gamma 1 are detected. This transcription precedes class switch recombination between s mu and s gamma 1 and reflects the rapid opening of the s gamma 1 region as induced by IL4. This suggests that IL4 directs class switching to IgG1 by opening the s gamma 1 switch region, thus making it accessible for switch recombination.