Incomplete block of B cell development and immunoglobulin production in mice carrying the μ MT mutation on the BALB/c background
✍ Scribed by Milena Hasan; Bojan Polic; Marina Bralic; Stipan Jonjic; Klaus Rajewsky
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2002
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 312 KB
- Volume
- 32
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0014-2980
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✦ Synopsis
The expression of the preB cell receptor (preBCR), composed of the mu chain, surrogate light chains and the Igalpha /Igbeta signal transduction unit, permits further differentiation of Bcell precursors. C57BL/6 mice homozygous for an inactivating mutation of the membrane exon of the mu chain gene (C57BL/6muMT/muMT)) cannot form a preBCR and are, consequently, devoid of mature B lymphocytes. Here we present evidence that the block of B cell development by the muMT mutation is incomplete in BALB/c mice. Unlike C57BL/6muMT/muMT), BALB/cmuMT/muMT) mice generate small numbers of mature B cells, accumulate plasma cells and produce high levels of all immunoglobulin isotypes, except IgM. The observed phenomenon seems to be controlled by a single genetic locus that is not linked to IgH.