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Most κ immunoglobulin mRNA in human lymphocytes is homologous to a small family of germ-line V genes

Nature volume 307, pages 77–80 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

The mammalian immune system produces 106–108 different antibody-combining sites1. It has been established that three factors contribute to the diversity of immunoglobulin variable regions: multiple gene segments in the germ line, somatic recombination of these segments and somatic mutation2. However, the relative importance of these components in generating the antibody repertoire is unknown. One way to assess the importance of the germ-line component relative to the somatic components would be to determine the number of germ-line V genes expressed. Here, I report that a family of about 25 human germ-line V genes encodes over 50% of κ mRNA in spleen or peripheral blood lymphocytes. This observation agrees with gene-counting experiments which indicated that the total number of Vκ genes in the human genome is quite small, about 50 or less3. Such a small number of germ-line Vκ sequences implies that somatic mutation is the major source of human κ-chain diversity.

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  1. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1124 Columbia Street, Seattle, Washington, 98104, USA

    David L. Bentley

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Bentley, D. Most κ immunoglobulin mRNA in human lymphocytes is homologous to a small family of germ-line V genes. Nature 307, 77–80 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/307077a0

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