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Biochemical Studies of Class Switch Recombination

  • Chapter
Molecular Analysis of DNA Rearrangements in the Immune System

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ((CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 217))

Abstract

Higher eukaryotes produce immunoglobulins (lg) of different classes, which are defined by the constant region (C) of the heavy chain. In the mouse the heavy chains are designated μ, δ, γ3, γ1, γ2b, γ2a, ε and α. Upon stimulation by antigen, expression of the early IgM class changes to that of another class (lgG3, lgG1, lgG2b, lgG2a, lgE, or lgA) can occur in B lymphocytes. Because the variable region is retained during this switch, the antigen specificity is unaltered. At the DNA level the process, named simply “class switching” from hereon, occurs through a DNA recombination event (for reviews see Esser and Radbruch 1990; Harriman et al. 1993).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Basel Institute for Immunology, Grenzacherstrasse 487, 4005, Basel, Switzerland

    Rolf Jessberger & Tilman Borggrefe

  2. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, 94143-0670, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Matthias Wabl

Authors
  1. Rolf Jessberger
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  2. Matthias Wabl
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  3. Tilman Borggrefe
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Immunology, Grenzacherstr. 487, CH-4005, Basel, Switzerland

    Rolf Jessberger

  2. Division of Molecular Oncology, Department of Pathology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8118, 660 So. Euclid Ave., 63110, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Michael R. Lieber

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Jessberger, R., Wabl, M., Borggrefe, T. (1996). Biochemical Studies of Class Switch Recombination. In: Jessberger, R., Lieber, M.R. (eds) Molecular Analysis of DNA Rearrangements in the Immune System. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 217. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-50140-1_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-50140-1_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-50142-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-50140-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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