scholarly journals The IgH 3′ regulatory region controls somatic hypermutation in germinal center B cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 210 (8) ◽  
pp. 1501-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Rouaud ◽  
Christelle Vincent-Fabert ◽  
Alexis Saintamand ◽  
Rémi Fiancette ◽  
Marie Marquet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Transcriptional Enhancers ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Activation Induced Deaminase ◽  
Ig Heavy Chain ◽  
Deficient Mice

Interactions with cognate antigens recruit activated B cells into germinal centers where they undergo somatic hypermutation (SHM) in V(D)J exons for the generation of high-affinity antibodies. The contribution of IgH transcriptional enhancers in SHM is unclear. The Eμ enhancer upstream of Cμ has a marginal role, whereas the influence of the IgH 3′ regulatory region (3′RR) enhancers (hs3a, hs1,2, hs3b, and hs4) is controversial. To clarify the latter issue, we analyzed mice lacking the whole 30-kb extent of the IgH 3′RR. We show that SHM in VH rearranged regions is almost totally abrogated in 3′RR-deficient mice, whereas the simultaneous Ig heavy chain transcription rate is only partially reduced. In contrast, SHM in κ light chain genes remains unaltered, acquitting for any global SHM defect in our model. Beyond class switch recombination, the IgH 3′RR is a central element that controls heavy chain accessibility to activation-induced deaminase modifications including SHM.

scholarly journals Class Switching in B Cells Lacking 3′ Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Enhancers

1998 ◽  
Vol 188 (8) ◽  
pp. 1421-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Manis ◽  
Nienke van der Stoep ◽  
Ming Tian ◽  
Roger Ferrini ◽  
Laurie Davidson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Globin Gene ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Region Gene ◽  
Cis Acting ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Heavy Chain Constant Region ◽  
And Function ◽  
Ig Heavy Chain

The 40-kb region downstream of the most 3′ immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain constant region gene (Cα) contains a series of transcriptional enhancers speculated to play a role in Ig heavy chain class switch recombination (CSR). To elucidate the function of this putative CSR regulatory region, we generated mice with germline mutations in which one or the other of the two most 5′ enhancers in this cluster (respectively referred to as HS3a and HS1,2) were replaced either with a pgk-neor cassette (referred to as HS3aN and HS1,2N mutations) or with a loxP sequence (referred to as HS3aΔ and HS1,2Δ, respectively). B cells homozygous for the HS3aN or HS1,2N mutations had severe defects in CSR to several isotypes. The phenotypic similarity of the two insertion mutations, both of which were cis-acting, suggested that inhibition might result from pgk-neor cassette gene insertion rather than enhancer deletion. Accordingly, CSR returned to normal in B cells homozygous for the HS3aΔ or HS1,2Δ mutations. In addition, induced expression of the specifically targeted pgk-neor genes was regulated similarly to that of germline CH genes. Our findings implicate a 3′ CSR regulatory locus that appears remarkably similar in organization and function to the β-globin gene 5′ LCR and which we propose may regulate differential CSR via a promoter competition mechanism.

scholarly journals Elucidation of the enigmatic IgD class-switch recombination via germline deletion of the IgH 3′ regulatory region

2014 ◽  
Vol 211 (5) ◽  
pp. 975-985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Rouaud ◽  
Alexis Saintamand ◽  
Faten Saad ◽  
Claire Carrion ◽  
Sandrine Lecardeur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Class Switch Recombination ◽  
End Joining ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Classical Class ◽  
Mesenteric Lymph ◽  
Alternative End Joining ◽  
Activation Induced Deaminase ◽  
Deficient Mice

Classical class-switch recombination (cCSR) substitutes the Cμ gene with Cγ, Cε, or Cα, thereby generating IgG, IgE, or IgA classes, respectively. This activation-induced deaminase (AID)–driven process is controlled by the IgH 3′ regulatory region (3′RR). Regulation of rare IgD CSR events has been enigmatic. We show that μδCSR occurs in mouse mesenteric lymph node (MLN) B cells and is AID-dependent. AID attacks differ from those in cCSR because they are not accompanied by extensive somatic hypermutation (SHM) of targeted regions and because repaired junctions exhibit features of the alternative end-joining (A-EJ) pathway. In contrast to cCSR and SHM, μδCSR is 3′RR-independent, as its absence affects neither breakpoint locations in Sμ- and Sδ-like (σδ) nor mutation patterns at Sμ-σδ junctions. Although mutations occur in the immediate proximity of the μδ junctions, SHM is absent distal to the junctions within both Sμ and rearranged VDJ regions. In conclusion, μδCSR is active in MLNs, occurs independently of 3′RR-driven assembly, and is even dramatically increased in 3′RR-deficient mice, further showing that its regulation differs from cCSR.

scholarly journals Sequential activation and distinct functions for distal and proximal modules within the IgH 3′ regulatory region

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 1618-1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armand Garot ◽  
Marie Marquet ◽  
Alexis Saintamand ◽  
Sébastien Bender ◽  
Sandrine Le Noir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Cell Receptor ◽  
B Cell Receptor ◽  
Receptor Expression ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Cell Ontogeny

As a master regulator of functional Ig heavy chain (IgH) expression, the IgH 3′ regulatory region (3′RR) controls multiple transcription events at various stages of B-cell ontogeny, from newly formed B cells until the ultimate plasma cell stage. The IgH 3′RR plays a pivotal role in early B-cell receptor expression, germ-line transcription preceding class switch recombination, interactions between targeted switch (S) regions, variable region transcription before somatic hypermutation, and antibody heavy chain production, but the functional ranking of its different elements is still inaccurate, especially that of its evolutionarily conserved quasi-palindromic structure. By comparing relevant previous knockout (KO) mouse models (3′RR KO and hs3b-4 KO) to a novel mutant devoid of the 3′RR quasi-palindromic region (3′PAL KO), we pinpointed common features and differences that specify two distinct regulatory entities acting sequentially during B-cell ontogeny. Independently of exogenous antigens, the 3′RR distal part, including hs4, fine-tuned B-cell receptor expression in newly formed and naïve B-cell subsets. At mature stages, the 3′RR portion including the quasi-palindrome dictated antigen-dependent locus remodeling (global somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination to major isotypes) in activated B cells and antibody production in plasma cells.

scholarly journals IgH 3’ regulatory region increases ectopic class switch recombination

PLoS Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. e1009288
Author(s):  
Sandrine Le Noir ◽  
Amélie Bonaud ◽  
Bastien Hervé ◽  
Audrey Baylet ◽  
François Boyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Class Switch Recombination ◽  
Dna Lesions ◽  
Reporter System ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Super Enhancer ◽  
Switch Regions ◽  
Activation Induced Deaminase

DNA lesions inflicted by activation-induced deaminase (AID) instrumentally initiate the processes reshaping immunoglobulin genes in mature B-cells, from local somatic hypermutation (SHM) to junctions of distant breaks during class switch recombination (CSR). It remains incompletely understood how these divergent outcomes of AID attacks are differentially and temporally focused, with CSR strictly occurring in the Ig heavy chain (IgH) locus while SHM concentrates on rearranged V(D)J regions in the IgH and Ig light chain loci. In the IgH locus, disruption of either the 3’Regulatory Region (3’RR) super-enhancer or of switch (S) regions preceding constant genes, profoundly affects CSR. Reciprocally, we now examined if these elements are sufficient to induce CSR in a synthetic locus based on the Igκ locus backbone. Addition of a surrogate “core 3’RR” (c3’RR) and of a pair of transcribed and spliced Switch regions, together with a reporter system for “κ-CSR” yielded a switchable Igκ locus. While the c3’RR stimulated SHM at S regions, it also lowered the local SHM threshold necessary for switch recombination to occur. The 3’RR thus both helps recruit AID to initiate DNA lesions, but then also promotes their resolution through long-distance synapses and recombination following double-strand breaks.

The immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus hs3b and hs4 3′ enhancers are dispensable for VDJ assembly and somatic hypermutation

Blood ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 1421-1427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Le Morvan ◽  
Eric Pinaud ◽  
Catherine Decourt ◽  
Armelle Cuvillier ◽  
Michel Cogné
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
B Cell ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Class Switch Recombination ◽  
Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain ◽  
Germinal Centers ◽  
Affinity Maturation ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Endogenous Locus

Abstract The more distal enhancers of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain 3′ regulatory region, hs3b and hs4, were recently demonstrated as master control elements of germline transcription and class switch recombination to most immunoglobulin constant genes. In addition, they were shown to enhance the accumulation of somatic mutations on linked transgenes. Since somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination are tightly linked processes, their common dependency on the endogenous locus 3′ enhancers could be an attractive hypothesis. VDJ structure and somatic hypermutation were analyzed in B cells from mice carrying either a heterozygous or a homozygous deletion of these enhancers. We find that hs3b and hs4 are dispensable both for VDJ assembly and for the occurrence of mutations at a physiologic frequency in the endogenous locus. In addition, we show that cells functionally expressing the immunoglobulin M (IgM) class B-cell receptor encoded by an hs3b/hs4-deficient locus were fully able to enter germinal centers, undergo affinity maturation, and yield specific antibody responses in homozygous mutant mice, where IgG1 antibodies compensated for the defect in other IgG isotypes. By contrast, analysis of Peyer patches from heterozygous animals showed that peanut agglutinin (PNAhigh) B cells functionally expressing the hs3b/hs4-deficient allele were dramatically outclassed by B cells expressing the wild-type locus and normally switching to IgA. This study thus also highlights the role of germinal centers in the competition between B cells for affinity maturation and suggests that membrane IgA may promote recruitment in an activated B-cell compartment, or proliferation of activated B cells, more efficiently than IgM in Peyer patches.

scholarly journals Role of Dot1L and H3K79 methylation in regulating somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (29) ◽  
pp. e2104013118
Author(s):  
Zhi Duan ◽  
Linda B. Baughn ◽  
Xiaohua Wang ◽  
Yongwei Zhang ◽  
Varun Gupta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Pol Ii ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Igh Locus ◽  
Gene Treatment ◽  
Activation Induced Deaminase ◽  
V Region ◽  
Nascent Transcripts

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class-switch recombination (CSR) of the immunoglobulin (Ig) genes allow B cells to make antibodies that protect us against a wide variety of pathogens. SHM is mediated by activation-induced deaminase (AID), occurs at a million times higher frequency than other mutations in the mammalian genome, and is largely restricted to the variable (V) and switch (S) regions of Ig genes. Using the Ramos human Burkitt’s lymphoma cell line, we find that H3K79me2/3 and its methyltransferase Dot1L are more abundant on the V region than on the constant (C) region, which does not undergo mutation. In primary naïve mouse B cells examined ex vivo, the H3K79me2/3 modification appears constitutively in the donor Sμ and is inducible in the recipient Sγ1 upon CSR stimulation. Knockout and inhibition of Dot1L in Ramos cells significantly reduces V region mutation and the abundance of H3K79me2/3 on the V region and is associated with a decrease of polymerase II (Pol II) and its S2 phosphorylated form at the IgH locus. Knockout of Dot1L also decreases the abundance of BRD4 and CDK9 (a subunit of the P-TEFb complex) on the V region, and this is accompanied by decreased nascent transcripts throughout the IgH gene. Treatment with JQ1 (inhibitor of BRD4) or DRB (inhibitor of CDK9) decreases SHM and the abundance of Pol II S2P at the IgH locus. Since all these factors play a role in transcription elongation, our studies reinforce the idea that the chromatin context and dynamics of transcription are critical for SHM.

scholarly journals Single cell clonal analysis identifies an AID-dependent pathway of plasma cell differentiation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Gomez-Escolar ◽  
Alvaro Serrano-Navarro ◽  
Alberto Benguria ◽  
Ana Dopazo ◽  
Fatima Sanchez-Cabo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Single Cell ◽  
Plasma Cells ◽  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Clonal Analysis ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Antibody Diversification ◽  
Activation Induced Deaminase ◽  
Cell Transcriptome

Germinal centers (GC) are microstructures where B cells that have been activated by antigen can improve the affinity of their B cell receptors and differentiate into memory B cells (MBCs) or antibody secreting plasma cells. Activation Induced Deaminase (AID) initiates antibody diversification in GCs by somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination. Here we have addressed the role of AID in the terminal differentiation of GC B cells by combining single cell transcriptome and immunoglobulin clonal analysis in a mouse model that traces AID-experienced cells. We identified 8 transcriptional clusters that include dark zone and light zone GC subsets, plasmablasts/plasma cells (PB), 4 subsets of MBCs and a novel prePB subset, which shares the strongest clonal relationships with PBs. Mice lacking AID have various alterations in the size and expression profiles of these transcriptional clusters. We find that AID deficiency leads to a reduced proportion of prePB cells and severely impairs transitions between the prePB and the PB subsets. Thus, AID shapes the differentiation fate of GC B cells by enabling PB generation from a prePB state.

scholarly journals Deletion of the immunoglobulin heavy chain 3′ regulatory region super-enhancer affects somatic hypermutation in B1 B cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Issaoui Hussein ◽  
Ghazzaui Nour ◽  
Boyer François ◽  
Denizot Yves ◽  
Saintamand Alexis
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
Heavy Chain ◽  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain ◽  
Super Enhancer ◽  
B1 B Cells

Genomic deletion of the whole IgH 3′ regulatory region (hs3a, hs1,2, hs3b, and hs4) dramatically affects class switch recombination and Ig secretion to all isotypes

Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (11) ◽  
pp. 1895-1898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christelle Vincent-Fabert ◽  
Remi Fiancette ◽  
Eric Pinaud ◽  
Véronique Truffinet ◽  
Nadine Cogné ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Differentiation ◽  
B Cells ◽  
Plasma Cell ◽  
Regulatory Region ◽  
Class Switch Recombination ◽  
B Cell Differentiation ◽  
Plasma Cell Differentiation ◽  
Heavy Chains ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Transcriptional Changes

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.

scholarly journals Activation-induced Deaminase (AID)-directed Hypermutation in the Immunoglobulin Sμ Region

2002 ◽  
Vol 195 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hitoshi Nagaoka ◽  
Masamichi Muramatsu ◽  
Namiko Yamamura ◽  
Kazuo Kinoshita ◽  
Tasuku Honjo
Keyword(s):  
B Lymphocytes ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Dna Cleavage ◽  
Somatic Hypermutation ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Genetic Alterations ◽  
Variable Regions ◽  
Class Switch ◽  
Large Deletions ◽  
Activation Induced Deaminase

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) cause distinct genetic alterations at different regions of immunoglobulin genes in B lymphocytes: point mutations in variable regions and large deletions in S regions, respectively. Yet both depend on activation-induced deaminase (AID), the function of which in the two reactions has been an enigma. Here we report that B cell stimulation which induces CSR but not SHM, leads to AID-dependent accumulation of SHM-like point mutations in the switch μ region, uncoupled with CSR. These findings strongly suggest that AID itself or a single molecule generated by RNA editing function of AID may mediate a common step of SHM and CSR, which is likely to be involved in DNA cleavage.

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