Four of five RAG-expressing JCkappa-/- small pre-BII cells have no L chain gene rearrangements: detection by high-efficiency single cell PCR

Immunity. 1999 Sep;11(3):309-16. doi: 10.1016/s1074-7613(00)80106-5.

Abstract

Single cell PCR assays have been further developed that detect over 80% of all VkappaJkappa, VkappaRS, and VlambdaJlambda rearrangements at efficiencies between 70% and 90%. These IgL chain gene rearrangement assays were used with small pre-BII cells that develop in comparably high numbers in the bone marrow of wild-type, Ckappa-deficient, and JCkappa-deficient homozygous and heterozygous mice. In all of these mice, only 15%-25% of all small pre-BII cells carry VlambdaJlambda rearrangements. These results confirm that lambdaL chain gene rearrangements occur independently of kappaL chain gene rearrangement and expression. They also show that a large part of the small pre-BII cells that express the rearrangement machinery can develop without IgL chain gene rearrangements.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • B-Lymphocytes*
  • Cell Count
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Light Chain*
  • Genes, Immunoglobulin
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells*
  • Homeodomain Proteins / genetics*
  • Immunoglobulin Joining Region / genetics*
  • Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / genetics*
  • Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains / genetics
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Immunoglobulin Joining Region
  • Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains
  • Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains
  • Rag2 protein, mouse
  • V(D)J recombination activating protein 2
  • RAG-1 protein