title: RAG: a recombinase diversified.
abstract: During B cell and T cell development, the lymphoid-specific proteins RAG-1 and RAG-2 act together to initiate the assembly of antigen receptor genes through a series of site-specific somatic DNA rearrangements that are collectively called variable-diversity-joining (V(D)J) recombination. In the past 20 years, a great deal has been learned about the enzymatic activities of the RAG-1-RAG-2 complex. Recent studies have identified several new and exciting regulatory functions of the RAG-1-RAG-2 complex. Here we discuss some of these functions and suggest that the RAG-1-RAG-2 complex nucleates a specialized subnuclear compartment that we call the 'V(D)J recombination factory'.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. adamgm@mit.edu.
authors.forename: Adam G W
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Marjorie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Oettinger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000276:immunology; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000276:immunology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D015321:Gene Rearrangement / Q000276:immunology*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D045567:VDJ Recombinases / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006657:Histones; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C499311:RAG2 protein, human; C064658:RAG-1 protein; D045567:VDJ Recombinases