B cell variable genes have evolved their codon usage to focus the targeted patterns of somatic mutation on the complementarity determining regions.

ABSTRACT: The exceptional ability of B cells to diversify through somatic mutation and improve affinity of the repertoire toward the antigens is the cornerstone of adaptive immunity. Somatic mutation is not evenly distributed and exhibits certain micro-sequence specificities. We show here that the combination of somatic mutation targeting and the codon usage in human B cell receptor (BCR) Variable (V) genes create expected patterns of mutation and post mutation changes that are focused on their complementarity determining regions (CDR). T cell V genes are also skewed in targeting mutations but to a lesser extent and are lacking the codon usage bias observed in BCRs. This suggests that the observed skew in T cell receptors is due to their amino acid usage, which is similar to that of BCRs. The mutati

SUBMITTER: Saini J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4352345 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature