Control of V(D)J Recombinational Accessibility of the Dβ1 Gene Segment at the TCRβ Locus by a Germline Promoter
ImmunityPublished 1 March 1999Open access
Charles E. Whitehurst, Samit Chattopadhyay, Jianzhu Chen
Citations147
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score12.16
SNIP4.01
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TL;DR
It is suggested that germline promoters regulate localized accessibility of gene segments for recombination and that in CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes TCRβ allelic exclusion does not result from inaccessibility of Dβ gene segments.
Abstract
The germline promoter region upstream of the D beta 1 gene segment in the murine TCR beta locus was deleted to assess its role in controlling V(D)J recombination. Associated with diminished D beta 1 region germline transcription, rearrangement of the D beta 1 but not the D beta 2 gene segment was reduced 10- to 20-fold. A corresponding reduction in RAG-mediated cleavage at the D beta 1 and J beta 1 signal sequences was apparent only when purified CD4- CD8- thymocytes were analyzed because, as we demonstrate, cleavage at these gene segments also occurred in CD4+ CD8+ thymocytes. These findings suggest that germline promoters regulate localized accessibility of gene segments for recombination and that in CD4+ CD8+ thymocytes TCR beta allelic exclusion does not result from inaccessibility of D beta gene segments.
Keywords
Immunology and MicrobiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
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