| First Author | Yu W | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | Nature | Volume | 400 |
| Issue | 6745 | Pages | 682-7 |
| PubMed ID | 10458165 | Mgi Jnum | J:56779 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1342409 | Doi | 10.1038/23287 |
| Citation | Yu W, et al. (1999) Continued RAG expression in late stages of B cell development and no apparent re-induction after immunization [see comments]. Nature 400(6745):682-7 |
| abstractText | Models of B-cell development in the immune system suggest that only those immature B cells in the bone marrow that undergo receptor editing express V(D)J-recombination-activating genes (RAGs). Here we investigate the regulation of RAG expression in transgenic mice carrying a bacterial artificial chromosome that encodes a green fluorescent protein reporter instead of RAG2. We find that the reporter is expressed in all immature B cells in the bone marrow and spleen. Endogenous RAG messenger RNA is expressed in immature B cells in bone marrow and spleen and decreases by two orders of magnitude as they acquire higher levels of surface immunoglobulin M (IgM). Once RAG expression is stopped it is not re-induced during immune responses. Our findings may help to reconcile a series of apparently contradictory observations, and suggest a new model for the mechanisms that regulate allelic exclusion, receptor editing and tolerance. |
