ANALYSIS OF CLONAL DIVERSITY IN MOUSE IMMUNOGLOBULIN HEAVY-CHAIN GENES SELECTED FOR SIZE OF THE ANTIGEN COMBINING SITE

Size-diversity of Ig and T cell receptor antigen binding (CDR3) region s can be: visualized by ''CDR3 fingerprinting'', and provides an estim ate of B- or T-cell repertoire complexity. The method does not identif y clonal diversity, however, which can only be determined by random se quencing of the CDR3s. In this study we demonstrate that a combination of fingerprinting and single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis can be used for a rapid estimatation of clonal diversity with in mouse Ig antigen binding regions selected for size. This applicatio n may be useful in the analysis of clonal expansion within B- and T-ce ll repertoires.