Human B-cell isotype switching origins of IgE.

ABSTRACT:

Background

B cells expressing IgE contribute to immunity against parasites and venoms and are the source of antigen specificity in allergic patients, yet the developmental pathways producing these B cells in human subjects remain a subject of debate. Much of our knowledge of IgE lineage development derives from model studies in mice rather than from human subjects.

Objective

We evaluate models for isotype switching to IgE in human subjects using immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) mutational lineage data.

Methods

We analyzed IGH repertoires in 9 allergic and 24 healthy adults using high-throughput DNA sequencing of 15,843,270 IGH rearrangements to identify clonal lineages of B cells containing members expressing IgE. Somatic mutations in IGH inherited from common ancesto

SUBMITTER: Looney TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4747810 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature