Neoteny in Lymphocytes: Rag1 and Rag2 Expression in Germinal Center B Cells

The products of the Rag1 and Rag2 genes drive genomic V(D)J rearrangements that assemble functional immunoglobulin and T cell antigen receptor genes. Expression of the Rag genes has been thought to be limited to developmentally immature lymphocyte populations that in normal adult animals are primari...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1996-12, Vol.274 (5295), p.2094-2097
Main Authors: Han, Shuhua, Zheng, Biao, Schatz, David G., Spanopoulou, Eugenia, Kelsoe, Garnett
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antibodies
B lymphocytes
B-Lymphocytes - immunology
B-Lymphocytes - metabolism
Biological and medical sciences
Cellular biology
DNA Nucleotidyltransferases - metabolism
DNA-Binding Proteins
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene Expression
Gene Rearrangement
Genes
Genes, Immunoglobulin
Genes, RAG-1
Genic rearrangement. Recombination. Transposable element
Germinal Center - cytology
Germinal Center - immunology
Homeodomain Proteins
Immunization
Immunoglobulin Class Switching
Lymphocyte Activation
Lymphocytes
Lymphoid tissue
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Molecular and cellular biology
Molecular genetics
Numbers
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Protein Biosynthesis
Proteins
Proteins - genetics
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
Spleen
Spleen cells
T lymphocytes
Thymocytes
VDJ Recombinases
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Description
Summary:The products of the Rag1 and Rag2 genes drive genomic V(D)J rearrangements that assemble functional immunoglobulin and T cell antigen receptor genes. Expression of the Rag genes has been thought to be limited to developmentally immature lymphocyte populations that in normal adult animals are primarily restricted to the bone marrow and thymus. Abundant RAG1 and RAG2 protein and messenger RNA was detected in the activated B cells that populate murine splenic and Peyer's patch germinal centers. Germinal center B cells thus share fundamental characteristics of immature lymphocytes, raising the possibility that antigen-dependent secondary V(D)J rearrangements modify the peripheral antibody repertoire.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.274.5295.2094