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Do reshuffled genes cause autoimmunity
Mice with an autoimmune condition have B cells that shuffle their genes in the abdomen, which lacks the quality-control mechanisms found in bone marrow, where such rearrangements usually take place.
References:
Qin, X.-F. . . . M.C. Nussenzweig. 1999. Secondary V(D)J recombination in B-1 cells. Nature 397(Jan. 28):355.
Further Readings:
Burnett, F.M. 1959. The Clonal Selection Theory of Acquired Immunity. Cambridge: The University Press.
Han, S. . . . M.S. Schlissel, et al. 1997. V(D)J recombinase activity in a subset of germinal center B lymphocytes. Science 278(Oct. 10):301.
Nussenzweig, M.C. 1998. Immune receptor editing: Revise and select. Cell 95(Dec. 23):875.
Papavasiliou, F., et al. 1997. V(D)J recombination in mature B cells: A mechanism for altering antibody responses. Science 278(Oct. 10):298.
Ramsden, D.A., T.T. Paull, and M. Gellert. 1997. Cell-free V(D)J recombination. Nature 388(July 31):488.
Travis, J. 1998. The accidental immune system. Science News 154(Nov. 7):302.
Sources:
Michael C. Nussenzweig
Rockefeller University
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
1230 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Mark S. Schlissell
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine
Ross Building, Room 1068
720 Rutland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21205
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 5, January 30, 1999, p. 69. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
