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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Combined Immunofluorescence and DNA FISH on 3D-preserved Interphase Nuclei to Study Changes in 3D Nuclear Organization
Published on: February 3, 2013
Cis-regulatory elements and epigenetic changes control genomic rearrangements of the IgH locus
Thomas Perlot1, Frederick W Alt
1The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Children's Hospital, Immune Disease Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract:
Immunoglobulin variable region exons are assembled from discontinuous variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) segments by the process of V(D)J recombination. V(D)J rearrangements of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus are tightly controlled in a tissue-specific, ordered and allele-specific manner by regulating accessibility of V, D, and J segments to the recombination activating gene proteins which are the specific components of the V(D)J recombinase. In this review we discuss recent advances and established models brought forward to explain the mechanisms underlying accessibility control of V(D)J recombination, including research on germline transcripts, spatial organization, and chromatin modifications of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus. Furthermore, we review the functions of well-described and potential new cis-regulatory elements with regard to processes such as V(D)J recombination, allelic exclusion, and IgH class switch recombination.
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