title: Development of the primary antibody repertoire.
abstract: The ability to generate a diverse immune response depends on the somatic assembly of genes that encode the antigen-binding portions of immunoglobulin molecules. In this article, we discuss the mechanism and control of these genomic rearrangement events and how aspects of this process are involved in generating the primary antibody repertoire.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY 10032.
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Yancopoulos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000235:genetics*; D000916:Antibody Diversity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region