title: Precursor B cells showing H chain allelic inclusion display allelic exclusion at the level of pre-B cell receptor surface expression.
abstract: Within the pools of muH chain-producing precursor and mature B cells from normal and lambda5-defective mice, the frequency of cells in which both H chain alleles were productively VHDJH rearranged was determined. An equally high percentage (2%-4%) of cells carrying two productively VHDJH-rearranged H chain loci was found in precursor and mature B cell pools of both mouse strains. In all of these cells, one allele encodes a muH chain incapable of forming a surface-expressed pre-B cell receptor. Hence, allelic exclusion is maintained at the level of pre-B cell receptor expression. The surprising conservation of H chain allelic exclusion in lambda5-defective B cells suggests that an alternative form of pre-B cell receptor might function to ensure this allelic exclusion.
authors.affiliation: Basel Institute for Immunology, Switzerland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: ten Boekel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Melchers
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Rolink
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology; D019070:Cell Lineage; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015326:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Heavy Chain; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains; D054444:Immunoglobulin Light Chains, Surrogate; D007146:Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D018448:Models, Immunological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains; D054444:Immunoglobulin Light Chains, Surrogate; D007146:Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D011994:Recombinant Proteins