THE INSERTION DELETION PHENOTYPE IN SOMATIC HYPERMUTATION AND A NEW MODEL FOR SOMATIC HYPERMUTATION/

Based on analysis of the insertion/deletion of DNA, Patrick C. Wilson and J. Donald Capra here propose a model for the occurrence of inserti on/deletion (ID) mutations in hypermutated immunoglobulin V genes invo lving loop intermediates that resemble the ''polymerase slippage''-ass ociated mutations seen in prokaryote, yeast, and mammal DNA replicatio n and repair mutations. The molecular characteristics of these ID muta tions and their correlation to somatic hypermutation are discussed, an d a new model for the molecular mechanism of somatic hypermutation is presented.