Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
14:23
Recombineering Homologous Recombination Constructs in Drosophila
Published on: July 13, 2013
Secondary V(D)J recombination in B-1 cells
1Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA.
Nature
|February 9, 1999
Summary
B-1 B cells may produce autoreactive antibodies due to secondary V(D)J recombination of immunoglobulin genes, a process involving recombinase-activating genes (RAG1 and RAG2). This occurs outside organized lymphoid organs, particularly in autoimmune-prone mice.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
- Autoimmunity
Background:
- B-1 B cells are prone to auto-antibody production.
- Signaling pathways controlling B-1 cell growth are known, but the cause of autoreactivity is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the autoreactive antibody production by B-1 B cells.
- To explore the role of immunoglobulin gene recombination in B-1 cell autoreactivity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of recombinase-activating gene (RAG1 and RAG2) expression in B-1 cells.
- Investigation of secondary V(D)J recombination of immunoglobulin genes in B-1 cells.
- Assessment of RAG messenger RNA and recombination levels in B cells from NZB mice.
Main Results:
- B-1 B cells express RAG1 and RAG2, enabling secondary V(D)J recombination of immunoglobulin genes.
- B cells from autoimmune-prone NZB mice exhibit elevated RAG messenger RNA and recombination levels.
- Evidence suggests secondary immunoglobulin gene rearrangements occur outside organized lymphoid tissues.
Conclusions:
- Secondary immunoglobulin gene rearrangements in B-1 B cells may contribute to autoreactive antibody development.
- RAG-mediated recombination outside lymphoid organs could be a mechanism driving autoimmunity.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Recombinant DNA
Overview
00:57Viral Recombination
Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
02:31Homologous Recombination
The basic reaction of homologous recombination (HR) involves two chromatids that contain DNA sequences sharing a significant stretch of identity. One of these sequences uses a strand from another as a template to synthesize DNA in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The final product is a novel amalgamation of the two substrates. To ensure an accurate recombination of sequences, HR is restricted to the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. At these stages, the DNA has been replicated already and the...
02:53Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
01:09Recombinant DNA
Overview
02:31Homologous Recombination
The basic reaction of homologous recombination (HR) involves two chromatids that contain DNA sequences sharing a significant stretch of identity. One of these sequences uses a strand from another as a template to synthesize DNA in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The final product is a novel amalgamation of the two substrates. To ensure an accurate recombination of sequences, HR is restricted to the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. At these stages, the DNA has been replicated already and the...