Immunoglobulin Genes

Liam J Fanning, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland

Published online: January 2006

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0005668

Through a process of random gene segment rearrangements and mutation, the immune system is uniquely positioned to generate an apparently inexhaustible array of responses to foreign antigenic challenges.

Keywords: immunoglobulin; class-switching; V(D); rearrangement; repertoire

Figure 1. Recognition signal sequence for DH to JH and VH to DHJH rearrangement. The recombination recognition sequence contains two conserved DNA sequences, a heptamer, which is essentially palindromic (CACAGTG), and a nonamer (GGTTTTTGT); these are separated by spacer DNA of either 23 bp (not shown) or 12 bp (shown).
Figure 2. H-chain locus, showing the organization of a portion of the constant gene (CH) segments. Class switching is mediated by a DNA rearrangement event called switch recombination (S–S recombination). In vivo studies have shown that S–S recombination occurs between switch (S) regions in the 5¢ flanking sequences of the C gene (i.e. S), and in the 5¢ flanking sequences of the genes of other constant regions (e.g. S3), except for C. Structural studies have shown that S regions are composed of tandemly repeated short DNA sequences that vary in sequence similarity between different constant gene segments.
Figure 3. Deletion model of class switch recombination. The genomic organization prior to recombination consists of a rearranged V(D)J region, which is 5¢ of the S–C gene segment. Downstream of the C gene segment are the constant region gene segments. All constant region genes have a 5¢ switch or S region. The organization of the genome is such that antibodies of class M are produced first. The orchestration of the recombination between two S regions involves the juxtaposition of two S regions. Through a process of DNA recombination the two S regions are recombined. The intervening DNA is removed from the genome as a closed circle. This recombination has the effect of deleting the C constant region gene and the remnants of the S region from both the incoming constant region gene and the outgoing C region gene. The end result of this recombination is that the incoming constant region gene, C2b, is placed downstream of the V(D)J genes. The newly organized genome now produces antibodies of class C2b.
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 Web Links
    ePath B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (BCL2); LocusID: 596. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=596
    ePath Recombination activation gene 1 (RAG1); LocusID: 5896. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=5896
    ePath Recombination activation gene 2 (RAG2); LocusID: 5897. LocusLink: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/LocusLink/LocRpt.cgi?l=5897
    ePath B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (BCL2); MIM number: 151430. OMIM: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?151430
    ePath Recombination activation gene 1 (RAG1); MIM number: 179615. OMIM: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?179615
    ePath Recombination activation gene 2 (RAG2); MIM number: 179616. OMIM: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Omim/dispmim?179616

Related Sub-Topics:

Acquired (Adaptive) Immunity | Antibodies | Chromosomes and Chromatin Modifications | DNA Structure and Function | Evolution of Coding and Functional Modules | DNA Damage and Repair | Enzymes: Structure and Action Mechanism | Nucleic Acids: Structure, Function, Metabolism
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Article Title: Immunoglobulin Genes
 
How to Cite close
Fanning, Liam J(Jan 2006) Immunoglobulin Genes. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0005668]