Allelic exclusion of the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus is independent of its nuclear localization in mature B cells.

ABSTRACT: In developing B cells, the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) locus is thought to move from repressive to permissive chromatin compartments to facilitate its scheduled rearrangement. In mature B cells, maintenance of allelic exclusion has been proposed to involve recruitment of the non-productive IgH allele to pericentromeric heterochromatin. Here, we used an allele-specific chromosome conformation capture combined with sequencing (4C-seq) approach to unambigously follow the individual IgH alleles in mature B lymphocytes. Despite their physical and functional difference, productive and non-productive IgH alleles in B cells and unrearranged IgH alleles in T cells share many chromosomal contacts and largely reside in active chromatin. In brain, however, the locus resides in a different repress

SUBMITTER: Holwerda SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3737562 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature