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Regulation of the Assembly and Expression of Variable-Region Genes

Regulation of the Assembly and Expression of Variable-Region Genes During the past several years, it has become increasingly evident that the regulation of immunoglobulin (Ig) gene assembly and expression is intrinsically related to the progression of B-cell precursors to the B-cell differentiation stage. The general focus of this review is to describe in detail the mechanism of Ig variable-region gene assembly and to explore the possible regulatory mechanisms that the cell exploits to control these genomic rearrangement events. Because assembly of the variable region of the T-cell antigen-receptor genes appears to be mediated by the same molecular elements, the general principles we describe should apply to both Ig and T cell-receptor variable-region genes. The immune system is capable of responding to an almost infinite number of antigenic challenges by producing a tremendous diversity of antibody specificities. Each antibody molecule consists of heavy (H) and light (L) immunoglobulin polypeptide chains. The carboxy terminus of H and L chains is a region of constant amino acid sequence. The constant region of the H chain is involved in a variety of effector functions, such as Fe-receptor binding and complement fixation. The amino terminus of both these chains contains a region of variable amino acid sequences (designated the variable region) that http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annual Review of Immunology Annual Reviews

Regulation of the Assembly and Expression of Variable-Region Genes

Annual Review of Immunology , Volume 4 (1) – Apr 1, 1986

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References (72)

Publisher
Annual Reviews
Copyright
Copyright 1986 Annual Reviews. All rights reserved
Subject
Review Articles
ISSN
0732-0582
eISSN
1545-3278
DOI
10.1146/annurev.iy.04.040186.002011
pmid
3085692
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

During the past several years, it has become increasingly evident that the regulation of immunoglobulin (Ig) gene assembly and expression is intrinsically related to the progression of B-cell precursors to the B-cell differentiation stage. The general focus of this review is to describe in detail the mechanism of Ig variable-region gene assembly and to explore the possible regulatory mechanisms that the cell exploits to control these genomic rearrangement events. Because assembly of the variable region of the T-cell antigen-receptor genes appears to be mediated by the same molecular elements, the general principles we describe should apply to both Ig and T cell-receptor variable-region genes. The immune system is capable of responding to an almost infinite number of antigenic challenges by producing a tremendous diversity of antibody specificities. Each antibody molecule consists of heavy (H) and light (L) immunoglobulin polypeptide chains. The carboxy terminus of H and L chains is a region of constant amino acid sequence. The constant region of the H chain is involved in a variety of effector functions, such as Fe-receptor binding and complement fixation. The amino terminus of both these chains contains a region of variable amino acid sequences (designated the variable region) that

Journal

Annual Review of ImmunologyAnnual Reviews

Published: Apr 1, 1986

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