title: A V(D)J recombinase-inducible B-cell line: role of transcriptional enhancer elements in directing V(D)J recombination.
abstract: Rapid analysis of mechanisms that regulate V(D)J recombination has been hampered by the lack of appropriate cell systems that reproduce aspects of normal prelymphocyte physiology in which the recombinase is activated, accessible antigen receptor loci are rearranged, and rearrangement status is fixed by termination of recombinase expression. To generate such a system, we introduced heat shock-inducible V(D)J recombination-activating genes (RAG) 1 and 2 into a recombinationally inert B-cell line. Heat shock treatment of these cells rapidly induced high levels of RAG transcripts and RAG proteins that were accompanied by a parallel induction of V(D)J recombinase activity, strongly suggesting that RAG proteins have a primary role in V(D)J recombination. Within hours after induction, these cells began to rearrange chromosomally integrated V(D)J recombination substrates but only if the substrates contained an active transcriptional enhancer; substrates lacking an enhancer were not efficiently rearranged. Activities necessary to target integrated substrates for rearrangement were provided by two separate lymphoid-specific transcriptional enhancers, as well as an active nonlymphoid enhancer, unequivocally demonstrating that such elements enhance both transcription and V(D)J recombinational accessibility.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Oltz
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Taccioli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desiderio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rathbun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002460:Cell Line; D004247:DNA; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D015322:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D006358:Hot Temperature; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014162:Transfection; D045567:VDJ Recombinases
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D011506:Proteins; C499308:Rag2 protein, mouse; C064655:V(D)J recombination activating protein 2; C064658:RAG-1 protein; D004247:DNA; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D045567:VDJ Recombinases