Differences in potential for amino acid change after mutation reveals distinct strategies for kappa and lambda light-chain variation.

ABSTRACT: B cells generate varied yet functional clones under high rates of mutation of their V genes. It has been proposed that as a result of the opposing demands of diversification and preservation of integrity, the V genes of heavy and light chains have evolved to overexpress codons prone to amino acid change in their complementarity determining regions (CDR) compared with the framework (FW) regions. We have analyzed the germ-line V genes of heavy and light chains (both kappa and lambda), comparing codons of CDR and FW of the germ-line V regions both to each other and to control regions. We found that in both germ-line heavy chains and lambda chains, CDR codons are prone to replacement mutations, whereas in the FW, the opposite is true. Furthermore, the difference between CDR and FW in heavy cha

SUBMITTER: Hershberg U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1635110 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature