Using amplified cDNA and genomic libraries, we have analyzed the VH gene repertoire of pre-B cells and various B cell subsets of conventional mice at the level of VH genes belonging to the J558 VH gene family. The sequence data were evaluated on the basis of a newly established list of 67 J558 VH genes that comprise approximately two-thirds of the J558 VH genes of the murine IgHb haplotype. The results of the analysis demonstrate that VH gene utilization in pre-B cells, although biased to some extent by B cell autonomous VH gene selection, scatters over the whole range of J558 VH genes present in the germline. In contrast, in mature, peripheral B cells comprising long-lived mu + delta high B cells as well as Ly-1 B cells, small overlapping sets of germline VH genes are dominantly expressed. The data indicate that the recruitment of newly generated B cells into the long-lived peripheral B cell pool is mediated through positive selection by internal and/or external antigens. Because of the absence of immunoglobulin class switching and somatic hypermutation, this process is different from the selection of memory B cells in T cell-dependent immune responses.
Article|
June 01 1991
Most peripheral B cells in mice are ligand selected.
H Gu,
H Gu
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
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D Tarlinton,
D Tarlinton
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
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W Müller,
W Müller
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
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K Rajewsky,
K Rajewsky
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
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I Förster
I Förster
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
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H Gu
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
D Tarlinton
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
W Müller
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
K Rajewsky
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
I Förster
Institut für Genetik, Universität zu Köln, Federal Republic of Germany.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1991) 173 (6): 1357–1371.
Citation
H Gu, D Tarlinton, W Müller, K Rajewsky, I Förster; Most peripheral B cells in mice are ligand selected.. J Exp Med 1 June 1991; 173 (6): 1357–1371. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.173.6.1357
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