Immunoglobulin heavy-chain class switching in a pre-B cell line is accompanied by DNA rearrangement

Nature ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 306 (5940) ◽  
pp. 243-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Burrows ◽  
Gabriele B. Beck-Engeser ◽  
Matthias R. Wabl
1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4228-4235
Author(s):  
H Yu ◽  
L A Eckhardt

The spontaneous mutation rate of immunoglobulin genes expressed in myeloma cells is well above that of other genes expressed in these or in other cell types. The nature of such mutations in one myeloma cell line, MPC11, was explored at the molecular level. Included in this study were MPC11 variants representing 24 independent and spontaneous mutations affecting immunoglobulin secretion. Of the mutants studied, 19 had ceased immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) production (nonproducers), and 5 produced from as little as 1/1,000 to as much as 1/10 the amount of immunoglobulin produced by MPC11 (low producers). Only one of the MPC11 mutants (a nonproducer) showed no evidence of DNA rearrangement in or near the expressed IgH gene. The formerly expressed gamma 2b gene had been deleted in 18 of the 19 nonproducers. All of the low producers had undergone DNA rearrangement in or near the expressed IgH gene, and three of them produced immunoglobulin of a new heavy chain class. The cause for reduced heavy-chain synthesis in the low producers is not yet known. However, in several of these mutants, the defect appeared to be posttranscriptional. In these cell lines, steady-state IgH mRNA levels were much lower than in the parent cell line, while the heavy-chain gene transcription rate remained unchanged.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 450-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
E H Brown ◽  
M A Iqbal ◽  
S Stuart ◽  
K S Hatton ◽  
J Valinsky ◽  
...  

We measured the temporal order of replication of EcoRI segments from the murine immunoglobulin heavy-chain constant region (IgCH) gene cluster, including the joining (J) and diversity (D) loci and encompassing approximately 300 kilobases. The relative concentrations of EcoRI segments in bromouracil-labeled DNA that replicated during selected intervals of the S phase in Friend virus-transformed murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells were measured. From these results, we calculated the nuclear DNA content (C value; the haploid DNA content of a cell in the G1 phase of the cell cycle) at the time each segment replicated during the S phase. We observed that IgCH genes replicate in the following order: alpha, epsilon, gamma 2a, gamma 2b, gamma 1, gamma 3, delta, and mu, followed by the J and D segments. The C value at which each segment replicates increased as a linear function of its distance from C alpha. The average rate of DNA replication in the IgCH gene cluster was determined from these data to be 1.7 to 1.9 kilobases/min, similar to the rate measured for mammalian replicons by autoradiography and electron microscopy (for a review, see H. J. Edenberg and J. A. Huberman, Annu. Rev. Genet. 9:245-284, 1975, and R. G. Martin, Adv. Cancer Res. 34:1-55, 1981). Similar results were obtained with other murine non-B cell lines, including a fibroblast cell line (L60T) and a hepatoma cell line (Hepa 1.6). In contrast, we observed that IgCh segments in a B-cell plasmacytoma (MPC11) and two Abelson murine leukemia virus-transformed pre-B cell lines (22D6 and 300-19O) replicated as early as (300-19P) or earlier than (MPC11 and 22D6) C alpha in MEL cells. Unlike MEL cells, however, all of the IgCH segments in a given B cell line replicated at very similar times during the S phase, so that a temporal directionality in the replication of the IgCH gene cluster was not apparent from these data. These results provide evidence that in murine non-B cells the IgCH, J, and D loci are part of a single replicon.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 4087-4096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Jacobs ◽  
X Q Xin ◽  
K Dorshkind ◽  
C Nelson

A newly developed rat long-term bone marrow culture system was used to study the role of Pan/E2A basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors during B-cell development. In this system, B-lymphocyte progenitors actively differentiate into mature B cells. Monoclonal (Yae) and polyclonal (anti-Pan) antibodies were employed to characterize the expression of Pan proteins by Western blot assay during hematopoiesis and to examine the components of immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene enhancer element-binding species by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. During B-cell development, the appearance of Pan/E2A proteins preceded the expression of immunoglobulin heavy-chain protein. A Pan-containing immunoglobulin heavy-chain enhancer element (mu E5)-binding species (BCF1), composed of immunoreactive Pan-1/E47 but not Pan-2/E12, was observed concomitantly with the detection of Pan/E2A proteins. In addition to BCF1, other mu E5-binding species were detected which were not recognized by the Yae antibody. Two of these species were present in primary B-lymphocyte and myeloid cultures and were recognized by an anti-upstream stimulatory factor antiserum. Although Pan/E2A proteins have been proposed to be ubiquitous, Pan/E2A proteins were not detected in primary myeloid cultures composed mainly of granulocytes and macrophages or in the macrophage cell line J774. The absence of Pan/E2A proteins in differentiated myeloid cells correlated with low steady-state levels of Pan/E2A RNA. However, Pan/E2A proteins were present in a promyeloid cell line, 32DCL3, suggesting that extinction of Pan/E2A expression may play a role in myelopoiesis.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 2516-2516
Author(s):  
Sophia Adamia ◽  
Lian Xu ◽  
Antonio Sacco ◽  
Steven Treon

Abstract The TNF ligand-receptor superfamily and their adaptor proteins regulate important B-cell signaling pathways, including CD40L-CD40 and APRIL/BLYS-TACI through adaptor protein TRAF2. These pathways promote B-cell differentiation and immunoglobulin heavy chain class switching. Defects in immunoglobulin heavy chain class switching and presence of constitutive IgA and IgG hypogammaglobulinemia in patients with WM have previously been reported by us (Hunter et al, ASH2006). In WM patients we identified several novel splice variants of TNF-family members CD40 and BLYS, and their adaptor protein TRAF2. Cloning, sequencing and alignment analysis document that aberrant splice transcripts of CD40, CD40-Va, Vb and Vc, and BLYS, BLYS-Va and Vb, result from partial exon skipping (CD40Va and Vc) and entire or partial intron retention (CD40-Vb, BLYS-Va and Vb), while the TRAF2 variant is a result of exon skipping only. Using RT-PCR DNA fragment analysis, malignant and normal B-cells from the bone marrow of 25 WM patients and 6 healthy donors (HDs) were screened for the expression of CD40, BLYS and TRAF2 splice transcripts. This analysis identified overexpression of CD40-Vb (15/25WM vs. 0/6HD; P=0.01), CD40-Vc (21/25WM vs. 0/6HD; P=0.0003), BLYS-Vb (18/25WM vs. 0/6HD; P=0.002) and TRAF2-V (21/25WM vs. 1/6HD; P=0.004) in WM patients. The expression of other splice variants CD40-Va (18/25WM vs.2/4HD; P=0.09) and BLYS-Va (23/25WM vs. 4/6HD P=0.2) in the same group of WM patients were not significant. We hypothesized that these aberrations are consequences of genetic variations (GVs) distributed in the vicinity of splicing elements of these genes, as well as, alterations may have occurred in the repertoire of splicing factors (SFs) with respect of their expression levels. To address these issues, we started sequencing CD40, BLYS, and TRAF2 gene segments that are subjected to aberrant splicing. Sequencing analysis of the CD40 gene from WM B cells revealed 6 recurrent genetic variations (GVs-defined as mutations occurring more than one patients) that include 2 missense (on exon 3) and 3 silent substitutions (on exons 3-4-5), and 1 frame-shift deletion on exon 5. These substitutions lead to amino acid changes on CD40 gene, while the frame-shift deletion may cause truncation of wild-type CD40 protein. We also identified recurrent GVs on introns 4 and 5. All these GVs detected on exons and introns are distributed in the vicinity of key splicing elements that create and/or activate a new splice site in precisely the position required for the splicing events to create CD40 variants. Also, using TaqMan low density array (TaqMan-LDA) we evaluated levels of major SFs and other TNF family members involved in CD40 and BLYS signaling. These analyses showed that patients expressing aberrant splice variants of CD40 and BLYS overexpress not only other members of TNF family but also major SFs: SF2/ASF (a proto-oncogene), U2, hNRPA1 and SRP55. TaqMan-LDA analysis suggests that these SFs may play a significant role in CD40, BLYS and TRAF2 splicing in WM patients since these transcripts were upregulated (1.2-2.2 fold higher) only in those patients which expressed CD40, BLYS and TRAF2 variants. In conclusion, presence of GVs in the vicinity of splicing elements and upregulation of SFs collectively may promote aberrant CD40, BLYS and TRAF2 splicing and thus modulate TNF family pathways supportive of B-cell differentiation and immunoglobulin heavy chain class switching in patients with WM.


1994 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-210
Author(s):  
Yasushi MATSUURA ◽  
Saburo ONISHI ◽  
Yasutake YAMAMOTO ◽  
Taketoshi TANIGUCHI ◽  
Satoshi OBANA ◽  
...  

Nature ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 296 (5855) ◽  
pp. 325-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Alt ◽  
Naomi Rosenberg ◽  
Rose J. Casanova ◽  
Elise Thomas ◽  
David Baltimore

1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4228-4235 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Yu ◽  
L A Eckhardt

The spontaneous mutation rate of immunoglobulin genes expressed in myeloma cells is well above that of other genes expressed in these or in other cell types. The nature of such mutations in one myeloma cell line, MPC11, was explored at the molecular level. Included in this study were MPC11 variants representing 24 independent and spontaneous mutations affecting immunoglobulin secretion. Of the mutants studied, 19 had ceased immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) production (nonproducers), and 5 produced from as little as 1/1,000 to as much as 1/10 the amount of immunoglobulin produced by MPC11 (low producers). Only one of the MPC11 mutants (a nonproducer) showed no evidence of DNA rearrangement in or near the expressed IgH gene. The formerly expressed gamma 2b gene had been deleted in 18 of the 19 nonproducers. All of the low producers had undergone DNA rearrangement in or near the expressed IgH gene, and three of them produced immunoglobulin of a new heavy chain class. The cause for reduced heavy-chain synthesis in the low producers is not yet known. However, in several of these mutants, the defect appeared to be posttranscriptional. In these cell lines, steady-state IgH mRNA levels were much lower than in the parent cell line, while the heavy-chain gene transcription rate remained unchanged.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 1460-1473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Tantin ◽  
Phillip A. Sharp

ABSTRACT Immunoglobulin variable region promoters are predominantly B-cell specific, but the molecular basis for this specificity has not been elucidated. To further understand how B-cell-specific immunoglobulin promoter expression is mediated, the murine lymphoid cell line 2017 was engineered to express the green fluorescent protein under the control of an immunoglobulin heavy chain promoter and selected for high activity using multiple rounds of fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Rare clones with intense and stable immunoglobulin promoter activity were isolated. Transient transfection experiments demonstrated that two different immunoglobulin promoters and two other B-cell-specific promoters have higher activities in the selected cell lines relative to the parental line and to the non-cell-type-specific histone H2B promoter. The increased immunoglobulin activity required nucleotide residues downstream of the transcription initiation site which were also important for maximal activity in B cells and which were conserved in other B-cell-specific promoters. Unlike the unselected cells, the 2017 variants also showed activation of their endogenous immunoglobulin heavy chain variable regions.


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