title: Developmental changes in the human heavy chain CDR3.
abstract: The CDR3 of the Ig H chain (CDR3(H)) is significantly different in fetal and adult repertoires. To understand the mechanisms involved in the developmental changes in the CDR3(H) of Ig H chains, sets of nonproductive V(H)DJ(H) rearrangements obtained from fetal, full-term neonates and adult single B cells were analyzed and compared with the corresponding productive repertoires. Analysis of the nonproductive repertoires was particularly informative in assessing developmental changes in the molecular mechanisms of V(H)DJ(H) recombination because these rearrangements did not encode a protein and therefore their distribution was not affected by selection. Although a number of differences were noted, the major reasons that fetal B cells expressed Ig H chains with shorter CDR3(H) were both diminished TdT activity in the DJ(H) junction and the preferential use of the short J(H) proximal D segment D7-27. The enhanced usage of D7-27 by fetal B cells appeared to relate to its position in the locus rather than its short length. The CDR3(H) progressively acquired a more adult phenotype during ontogeny. In fetal B cells, there was decreased recurrent DJ(H) rearrangements before V(H)-DJ(H) rearrangement and increased usage of junctional microhomologies both of which also converted to the adult pattern during ontogeny. Overall, these results indicate that the decreased length and complexity of the CDR3(H) of fetal B cells primarily reflect limited enzymatic modifications of the joins as well as a tendency to use proximal D and J(H) segments during DJ(H) rearrangements.
authors.affiliation: Repertoire Analysis Group, Autoimmunity Branch, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1820, USA.
authors.forename: M Margarida
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Souto-Carneiro
authors.forename: Gary P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Sims
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Girschik
authors.forename: Jisoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Peter E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Lipsky
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D005333:Fetus; D015326:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Heavy Chain; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000235:genetics*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions; D017931:DNA Primers; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region