Three lymphoid-specific factors account for all junctional diversity characteristic of somatic assembly of T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin genes.
The somatic diversity immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor diversity is largely provided by the junctional variation created during site-specific rearrangement of separately encoded gene segments. Using a transient transfection assay, we demonstrate that the recombination activating genes Rag1 and Rag2 direct site-specific rearrangement on an artificial substrate in poorly differentiated as well as in differentiated nonlymphoid cell lines. In addition to a high frequency of precise recombination events, coding joints show deletions and more rarely P-nucleotide insertions, reminiscent of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor junctions found in fetal tissues. N-region insertions, which are characteristic of adult junctional diversity, are obtained at high frequency upon transfection of a terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase expression vector together with Rag1 and Rag2. These results show that only three lymphoid-specific factors are needed to generate all types of junctional diversity observed during lymphoid development.
Kallenbach
S
S
Département d'Immunologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Doyen
N
N
Fanton d'Andon
M
M
Rougeon
F
F
D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D004253:DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015322:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte; D015329:Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D051379:Mice; D011506:Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D011506:Proteins; C499308:Rag2 protein, mouse; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; C064655:V(D)J recombination activating protein 2; C064658:RAG-1 protein; D004253:DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase