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Review
. 2000 Jun 5;191(11):1813-7.
doi: 10.1084/jem.191.11.1813.

Revising B cell receptors

D Nemazee  1 , M Weigert
Affiliations
Review

Revising B cell receptors

D Nemazee et al. J Exp Med. .
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Organization of antibody genes. Gene segment numbers for humans and mice are indicated as n man/n mouse. Sequences involved in recombination are designated: ▸, 2 turn RSS; ▹, 1 turn RSS; striped ◃, κ deleting element (κde); >, VH central embedded heptamer (5′-CACAGTG-3′); and <, VH terminal embedded heptamer (5′-TACTGTG-3′).
Figure 3
Figure 3
VH replacement. Secondary VH rearrangement to embedded heptamers can replace most of a V(D)J if at the VH terminal heptamer, or about half of the V(D)J if at the central heptamer (B). In the former case, DNA between the donor and recipient VHs is deleted since most VH genes are in the same transcriptional orientation as JH (A). But DNA can be inverted if the initial rearrangement is VH to the 3′ RSS of D (B). This inverts intervening DNA and would allow a VH1 replacement of a VH2 (D)J, as observed by Wilson et al. (reference 8).
Figure 2
Figure 2
V gene editing at a κ-like L chain locus. V gene replacement can occur by secondary VJ rearrangement since the V RSS and J RSS are asymmetric, i.e. fit the 1 turn/2 turn or 12/23 bp rule. V genes in the same transcriptional orientation as J such as V1 and V2 delete DNA upon rearrangement (A). V3 and V4 invert the DNA between V and J, thereby conserving V genes (B). Moreover, V genes in the deletionogenic orientation such as V1 and V2 are now turned around and will conserve DNA on subsequent rearrangement.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Rearrangement events at an H chain locus. Rearrangement occurs on both alleles, leading to a B cell with a V(D)J allele and a (D)J allele. If rearrangement can resume at both alleles, then allele 1 might be replaced and allele 2 might undergo further (D)J rearrangements. If allele 1 becomes nonfunctional during clonal expansion, then allele 2 can become functional by a V to (D)J event. Such V(D)Js should be enriched for downstream JHs.
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Comment on

References

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