Transcription factories in Igκ allelic choice and diversity

The vertebrate immune system is tasked with the challenge of responding to any pathogen the organism might encounter, and retaining memory of that pathogen in case of future infection. Recognition and memory of pathogens are encoded within the adaptive immune system and production of T and B lymphocytes with diverse antigen receptor repertoires. In B lymphocytes, diversity is generated by sequential recombination between Variable (V), Diversity (D) and Joining (J) gene segments in the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (Igh) and subsequent V-J recombination in immunoglobulin light chain genes (Igκ followed by Igλ). However, the process by which particular V, D and J segments are selected during recombination, and stochasticity is maintained to ensure antibody repertoire diversity, is still unclear. In this review, we focus on Igκ and recent findings regarding the relationships between gene structure, the generation of diversity and allelic choice. Surprisingly, the nuclear environment in which each Igκ allele resides, including transcription factories assembled on the nuclear matrix, plays critical roles in both gene regulation and in shaping the diversity of Vκ genes accessible to recombination. These findings provide a new paradigm for understanding Igκ recombination and Vκ diversity in the context of B lymphopoiesis.