Sp. Fitzsimmons et al., Underutilization of the V kappa 10C gene in the B cell repertoire is due to the loss of productive VJ rearrangements during B cell development, J IMMUNOL, 165(2), 2000, pp. 852-859
The V kappa 10 family of murine light chain Ig genes is composed of three m
embers, two of which (V kappa 10A and V kappa 10B) are well used. V kappa 1
0C, the third member of this family, is not detected in any expressed Abs,
Our previous work showed that V kappa 10C is structurally functional and ca
n recombine, but mRNA levels in spleen were extremely low relative to thole
of V kappa 10A and V kappa 10B, Furthermore, while the V kappa 10C promote
r was efficient in Il cells, it was shown to work inefficiently in pre-B ce
ll lines. Here, we extend our analysis of the V kappa 10 family and examine
V kappa 10 gene accessibility, their representation in V kappa cDNA phage
libraries, and the frequency and nature of rearrangements during different
stages of B cell development. We demonstrate that V kappa 10C is under-repr
esented in V kappa cDNA libraries, but that the frequency of its sterile tr
anscripts in pre-B cells surpasses both V kappa 10A and V kappa 10B, indica
ting that the gene is as accessible as V kappa 10A and V kappa 10B to the r
ecombination machinery. We also demonstrate that V kappa 10C recombines at
a frequency equal to that of V kappa 10A in pre-B cells and has a normal no
nproductive to productive recombination ratio. As B cells develop, however,
both the frequency of V kappa 10C rearrangements and the presence of produ
ctive rearrangements decline, indicating that these cells are in some fashi
on being eliminated.