THE HALF-LIFE OF RAG-1 PROTEIN IN PRECURSOR B-CELLS IS INCREASED IN THE ABSENCE OF RAG-2 EXPRESSION

Site-specific recombination of immunoglobulin and T cell receptor gene segments in B and T lymphocytes is dependent on the expression of two recombination activation genes, Rag-1 and Rag-2. Here, we show that R AG-1 protein turnover in pre-B cells depends on the expression of RAG- 2. The apparent half-life of RAG-1 protein is increased when RAG-2 is not expressed in differentiating pre-B cells.