title: Molecular cloning of a zinc finger protein which binds to the heptamer of the signal sequence for V(D)J recombination.
abstract: The somatic V(D)J recombination for the assembly of the Ig and TCR genes is mediated by the recombination signal sequences (Rss) and the V(D)J recombinase. A cDNA clone was isolated from a lambda gt11 expression library made from mouse thymocyte poly(A)+ RNA, using the Rss as a ligand. The deduced amino acid sequence of the putative protein, designated Recognition component (Rc), reveals a pair of Cys2-His2 zinc fingers followed by a Glu- and Asp-rich acidic domain. In addition, there are five copies of the Ser/Thr-Pro-X-Arg/Lys sequence, which are putative DNA binding units. The zinc finger-acidic domain structures present in Rc are also found in several enhancer binding proteins, such as those for the kappa B motif of the Ig kappa light chain enhancer or related sequences. Bacterial fusion proteins for Rc bind preferentially to the Rss heptamer and to the kappa B motif. The dual affinities of Rc for the Rss heptamer and the kappa B motif suggest a possible link between Ig transcription and somatic recombination. The formation of multiple 'gel-shifted' DNA-protein complexes for Rc and its DNA ligand suggests that these complexes tend to multimerize.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dear
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boehm
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Foroni
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Rabbitts
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005333:Fetus; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C084779:Hivep3 protein, mouse; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D004247:DNA