title: Antibodies generated from human immunoglobulin miniloci in transgenic mice.
abstract: One approach to the production of human monoclonal antibodies focusses on the creation of transgenic mice bearing human immunoglobulin gene miniloci. Whilst such loci undergo lymphoid-specific gene rearrangement, only a small proportion of mouse B cells express the human immunoglobulin chains; the miniloci thus contribute poorly to serum immunoglobulin. Attributing this poor performance to competition between the transgenic and endogenous immunoglobulin loci, we crossed mice bearing a human immunoglobulin heavy-chain (HulgH) minilocus with animals that had been rendered B cell-deficient by disruption of their endogenous heavy-chain locus. The results were dramatic: the human minilocus rescued B cell differentiation such that effectively all B cells now expressed human mu chains. The concentration of antibody in the mouse serum recognised by anti-human mu increased to a concentration about one sixth that in human serum. The HulgH antibodies are heterogenous with diversity being generated by both combinatorial and junctional processes. Following antigen challenge, specific antibody is elicited but at low titre.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Neuberger
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajewsky
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xian
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brüggemann
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D000916:Antibody Diversity; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004247:DNA; D015326:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Heavy Chain; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D004247:DNA