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- Title
Secondary V(D)J recombination in B-1 cells.
- Authors
Qin, X F; Schwers, S; Yu, W; Papavasiliou, F; Suh, H; Nussenzweig, A; Rajewsky, K; Nussenzweig, M C
- Abstract
B-1 B cells are a self-renewing population of B cells that differ from conventional B cells (B-2 cells) in that they are particularly predisposed to auto-antibody production. Although much is known about the signalling pathways that control B-1-cell growth and development, less is known about why these cells are prone to produce autoreactive antibodies. Here we show that B-1 cells, like germinal-centre B cells, can express recombinase-activating genes 1 and 2 (RAG1 and RAG2) and undergo secondary V(D)J recombination of immunoglobulin genes. In addition, B cells from autoimmune-prone NZB mice show high levels of RAG messenger RNA and recombination. We propose that secondary immunoglobulin-gene rearrangements outside organized lymphoid organs may contribute to the development of autoreactive antibodies.
- Publication
Nature, 1999, Vol 397, Issue 6717, p355
- ISSN
0028-0836
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1038/16933