Abstract
During differentiation of lymphocytes into antibody-producing cells, an immunoglobulin κ variable-region gene is transcriptionally activated by rearrangement linking it to a κ constant (Cκ) region gene which is already transcribed prior to somatic rearrangement1,2. The presence of a transcriptional enhancer element within the large intron of the κ light-chain gene has been postulated to explain this mode of activation, supported by evidence of a chromatin region which is preferentially accessible to DNase I3–5 and restriction enzymes5. This DNA region contains a segment of about 130 base pairs (bp) which is strongly conserved between mouse, rabbit and man6. Moreover, no transcripts are detectable from a κ gene, which is truncated within the large intron7. Recently, a lymphocyte-specific enhancer has been identified downstream of the joining region in immunoglobulin heavy-chain genes8–10. We now show direct evidence for a functionally similar enhancer within the large κ gene intron of the mouse. It is, however, less active than the heavy-chain gene enhancer. In contrast, no enhancer was found to be associated with a cloned λI light-chain gene.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mather, E. L. & Perry, R. P. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 6855–6867 (1981).
Van Ness, B. G. et al. Cell 27, 593–602 (1981).
Parslow, T. G. & Granner, D. K. Nature 299, 449–451 (1982).
Chung, S.-Y., Folsom, V. & Wooley, J. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 2427–2431 (1983).
Parslow, T. G. & Granner, D. K. Nucleic Acids Res. 11, 4775–4792 (1983).
Emorine, L., Kuehl, M., Weir, L., Leder, P. & Max, E. E. Nature 304, 447–449 (1983).
Queen, C. & Baltimore, D. Cell 33, 741–748 (1983).
Banerji, J., Olson, L. & Schaffner, W. Cell 33, 729–740 (1983).
Gillies, S. D., Morrison, S. L., Oi, V. T. & Tonegawa, S. Cell 33, 717–728 (1983).
Neuberger, M. S. EMBO J. 2, 1373–1378 (1983).
Seidman, J. G. & Leder, P. Nature 276, 790–795 (1978).
Brack, C. & Tonegawa, S. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74, 5652–5656 (1977).
Bernard, O., Hozumi, N. & Tonegawa, S. Cell 15, 1133–1144 (1978).
Picard, D. & Schaffner, W. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80, 417–421 (1983).
Herbomel, P., Saragosti, S., Blangy, D. & Yaniv, M. Cell 25, 651–658 (1981).
Cremisi, C. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 5949–5964 (1981).
de Villiers, J. & Schaffner, W. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 6251–6264 (1981).
Banerji, J., Rusconi, S. & Schaffner, W. Cell 27, 299–308 (1981).
Moreau, P. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 6047–6068 (1981).
Schibler, U., Marcu, K. B. & Perry, R. P. Cell 15, 1495–1509 (1978).
Bogenhagen, D. F., Wormington, W. M. & Brown, D. D. Cell 28, 413–421 (1982).
Davison, B. L., Egly, J.-M., Mulvihill, E. R. & Chambon, P. Nature 301, 680–686 (1983).
Green, M. R., Treisman, R. & Maniatis, T. Cell 35, 137–148 (1983).
Tonegawa, S. Nature 302, 575–581 (1983).
Max, E. E., Maizel, J. V. Jr & Leder, P. J. biol. Chem. 256, 5116–5120 (1981).
Maniatis, T. et al. Cell 15, 687–701 (1978).
Vieira, J. & Messing, J. Gene 19, 259–268 (1982).
Weaver, R. F. & Weissmann, C. Nucleic Acids Res. 7, 1175–1193 (1979).
Weber, H. et al. ICN–UCLA Symp. molec. cell. Biol. 33, 367–385 (1981).
Rusconi, S. & Schaffner, W. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 5051–5055 (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Picard, D., Schaffner, W. A lymphocyte-specific enhancer in the mouse immunoglobulin κ gene. Nature 307, 80–82 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/307080a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/307080a0
This article is cited by
-
Multiple factors influence the contribution of individual immunoglobulin light chain genes to the naïve antibody repertoire
BMC Immunology (2014)
-
Slow response variant of the B lymphoma 70Z/3 defective in LPS activation of NF-?B
Immunogenetics (1990)
-
1.3E2, a variant of the B lymphoma 70Z/3, defective in activation of NF-?B and OTF-2
Immunogenetics (1990)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.