title: Autoantibody activity and V gene usage by B-cell malignancies.
abstract: Autoreactive B cells account for a substantial part of the B-cell repertoire. They frequently secrete polyspecific natural autoantibodies, which probably bind with low affinity to the different antigens they recognize and which express germinal genes. The role of this pre-immune repertoire still remains to be defined but it has been suggested that it participates in the elimination of cell breakdown products, serves as a first barrier of defense or acts as a template upon which antigen driven selection and somatic recombinations could induce the emergence of high affinity induced antibodies. The present study, reviews the evidence favouring the idea that this autoreactive B-cell repertoire, which expresses a restricted set of V genes, frequently undergoes malignant transformation. This evidence arises from the study of the autoantibody activity and V gene usage in three different models of B-cell malignancies namely monoclonal immunoglobulins; chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
authors.affiliation: Immunohématologie et Immunopathologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dighiero
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000032:analysis; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018956:CD5 Antigens; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000276:immunology; D015322:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000235:genetics*; D015448:Leukemia, B-Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm; D015703:Antigens, CD; D001323:Autoantibodies; D018956:CD5 Antigens; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region