scholarly journals Mapping of a Functional Recombination Motif that Defines Isotype Specificity for μ→γ3 Switch Recombination Implicates NF-κB p50 as the Isotype-specific Switching Factor

2004 ◽  
Vol 199 (5) ◽  
pp. 617-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Kenter ◽  
Robert Wuerffel ◽  
Carmen Dominguez ◽  
Ananth Shanmugam ◽  
Hongmei Zhang

Ig class switch recombination (CSR) requires expression of activation-induced deaminase (AID) and production of germline transcripts to target S regions for recombination. However, the mechanism of CSR remains unclear. Here we show that an extrachromosomal S plasmid assay is AID dependent and that a single consensus repeat is both necessary and sufficient for isotype-specific CSR. Transfected switch substrates specific for μ→γ3 and μ→γ1 are stimulated to switch with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) alone or LPS and interleukin-4, respectively. An Sγ3/Sγ1 substrate containing only three Sγ3-associated nucleotides reconstituted LPS responsiveness and permitted mapping of a functional recombination motif specific for μ→γ3 CSR. This functional recombination motif colocalized with a binding site for NF-κB p50, and p50 binding to this site was previously established. We show a p50 requirement for plasmid-based μ→γ3 CSR using p50-deficient B cells. Switch junctions from p50-deficient B cells showed decreased lengths of microhomology between Sμ and Sγ3 relative to wild-type cells, indicating a function for p50 in the mechanics of CSR. We note a striking parallel between the affects of p50 and Msh2 deficiency on Sμ/Sγ3 junctions. The data suggest that p50 may be the isotype-specific factor in μ→γ3 CSR and epistatic with Msh2.

2008 ◽  
Vol 205 (7) ◽  
pp. 1567-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali A. Zarrin ◽  
Peter H. Goff ◽  
Kate Senger ◽  
Frederick W. Alt

Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) class switch recombination (CSR) replaces the initially expressed IgH Cμ exons with a set of downstream IgH constant region (CH) exons. Individual sets of CH exons are flanked upstream by long (1–10-kb) repetitive switch (S) regions, with CSR involving a deletional recombination event between the donor Sμ region and a downstream S region. Targeting CSR to specific S regions might be mediated by S region–specific factors. To test the role of endogenous S region sequences in targeting specific CSR events, we generated mutant B cells in which the endogenous 10-kb Sγ1 region was replaced with wild-type (WT) or synthetic 2-kb Sγ3 sequences or a synthetic 2-kb Sγ1 sequence. We found that both the inserted endogenous and synthetic Sγ3 sequences functioned similarly to a size-matched synthetic Sγ1 sequence to mediate substantial CSR to IgG1 in mutant B cells activated under conditions that stimulate IgG1 switching in WT B cells. We conclude that Sγ3 can function similarly to Sγ1 in mediating endogenous CSR to IgG1. The approach that we have developed will facilitate assays for IgH isotype–specific functions of other endogenous S regions.


2004 ◽  
Vol 200 (9) ◽  
pp. 1111-1121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne M. Lumsden ◽  
Thomas McCarty ◽  
Lisa K. Petiniot ◽  
Rhuna Shen ◽  
Carrolee Barlow ◽  
...  

Immunoglobulin class switch recombination (Ig CSR) involves DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) at recombining switch regions and repair of these breaks by nonhomologous end-joining. Because the protein kinase ataxia telengiectasia (AT) mutated (ATM) plays a critical role in DSB repair and AT patients show abnormalities of Ig isotype expression, we assessed the role of ATM in CSR by examining ATM-deficient mice. In response to T cell–dependent antigen (Ag), Atm−/− mice secreted substantially less Ag-specific IgA, IgG1, IgG2b, and IgG3, and less total IgE than Atm+/+ controls. To determine whether Atm−/− B cells have an intrinsic defect in their ability to undergo CSR, we analyzed in vitro responses of purified B cells. Atm−/− cells secreted substantially less IgA, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG3, and IgE than wild-type (WT) controls in response to stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, CD40 ligand, or anti-IgD plus appropriate cytokines. Molecular analysis of in vitro responses indicated that WT and Atm−/− B cells produced equivalent amounts of germline IgG1 and IgE transcripts, whereas Atm−/− B cells produced markedly reduced productive IgG1 and IgE transcripts. The reduction in isotype switching by Atm−/− B cells occurs at the level of genomic DNA recombination as measured by digestion–circularization PCR. Analysis of sequences at CSR sites indicated that there is greater microhomology at the μ–γ1 switch junctions in ATM B cells than in wild-type B cells, suggesting that ATM function affects the need or preference for sequence homology in the CSR process. These findings suggest a role of ATM in DNA DSB recognition and/or repair during CSR.


2008 ◽  
Vol 364 (1517) ◽  
pp. 653-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwin Kotnis ◽  
Likun Du ◽  
Chonghai Liu ◽  
Sergey W Popov ◽  
Qiang Pan-Hammarström

Immunoglobulin class switch recombination (CSR) is initiated by a B-cell-specific factor, activation-induced deaminase, probably through deamination of deoxycytidine residues within the switch (S) regions. The initial lesions in the S regions are subsequently processed, resulting in the production of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). These breaks will then be recognized, edited and repaired, finally leading to the recombination of the two S regions. Two major repair pathways have been implicated in CSR, the predominant non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and the alternative end-joining (A-EJ) pathways. The former requires not only components of the ‘classical’ NHEJ machinery, i.e. Ku70/Ku80, DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit, DNA ligase IV and XRCC4, but also a number of DNA-damage sensors or adaptors, such as ataxia–telangiectasia mutated, γH2AX, 53BP1, MDC1, the Mre11–Rad50–NBS1 complex and the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR). The latter pathway is not well characterized yet and probably requires microhomologies. In this review, we will focus on the current knowledge of the predominant NHEJ pathway in CSR and will also give a perspective on the A-EJ pathway.


Author(s):  
Juan Alvarez-Gonzalez ◽  
Adam Yasgar ◽  
Robert W. Maul ◽  
Amanda E. Rieffer ◽  
Daniel J. Crawford ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (11) ◽  
pp. 1895-1898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christelle Vincent-Fabert ◽  
Remi Fiancette ◽  
Eric Pinaud ◽  
Véronique Truffinet ◽  
Nadine Cogné ◽  
...  

Abstract The immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (IgH) undergoes multiple changes along B-cell differentiation. In progenitor B cells, V(D)J assembly allows expression of μ heavy chains. In mature B cells, class switch recombination may replace the expressed constant (C)μ gene with a downstream CH gene. Finally, plasma cell differentiation strongly boosts IgH transcription. How the multiple IgH transcriptional enhancers tune these changes is unclear. Here we demonstrate that deletion of the whole IgH 3′ regulatory region (3′RR) allows normal maturation until the stage of IgM/IgD expressing lymphocytes, but nearly abrogates class switch recombination to all CH genes. Although plasma cell numbers are unaffected, we reveal the role of the 3′RR into the transcriptional burst normally associated with plasma cell differentiation. Our study shows that transcriptional changes and recombinations occurring after antigen-encounter appear mainly controlled by the 3′RR working as a single functional unit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 218 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric J. Wigton ◽  
Yohei Mikami ◽  
Ryan J. McMonigle ◽  
Carlos A. Castellanos ◽  
Adam K. Wade-Vallance ◽  
...  

MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miRs) regulate cell fate decisions by post-transcriptionally tuning networks of mRNA targets. We used miRNA-directed pathway discovery to reveal a regulatory circuit that influences Ig class switch recombination (CSR). We developed a system to deplete mature, activated B cells of miRNAs, and performed a rescue screen that identified the miR-221/222 family as a positive regulator of CSR. Endogenous miR-221/222 regulated B cell CSR to IgE and IgG1 in vitro, and miR-221/222–deficient mice exhibited defective IgE production in allergic airway challenge and polyclonal B cell activation models in vivo. We combined comparative Ago2-HITS-CLIP and gene expression analyses to identify mRNAs bound and regulated by miR-221/222 in primary B cells. Interrogation of these putative direct targets uncovered functionally relevant downstream genes. Genetic depletion or pharmacological inhibition of Foxp1 and Arid1a confirmed their roles as key modulators of CSR to IgE and IgG1.


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