Stepwise intraclonal maturation of antibody affinity through somatic hypermutation.
Using recombinant DNA techniques, we reconstructed a genealogical tree (Sablitzky, F., Wildner, G. & Rajewsky, K. (1985) EMBO J. 4, 345-350) that connects three clonally related B cells producing somatically mutated antibodies to a progenitor cell expressing a germ line-encoded antibody. The somatic mutants had been isolated from an in vivo immune response. The germ line-encoded progenitor antibody bound the antigen with high affinity. Intraclonal affinity maturation occurred stepwise over a 15-fold range.
Kocks
C
C
Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Federal Republic of Germany.
Rajewsky
K
K
D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000276:immunology; D004274:DNA, Recombinant / Q000032:analysis*; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000276:immunology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology; D014162:Transfection
D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region