Humoral immune responses require the diversification of the Ig repertoire by means of antigen receptor rearrangements. The mouse Igh locus spans 2.9 Mb within which are ~100 functional VH gene segments that participate in V(D)J recombination and eight CH genes that are used during class switch recombination (CSR). Activation induced deaminase (AID) is essential for both immunoglobulin somatic hypermutation and CSR in mature B cells. CSR requires transcription and induction of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) that must synapse over long genomic distances to facilitate intra-chromosomal rearrangement. The Igh locus assumes specific chromatin topologies that facilitate CSR and these may vary at different stages of B cell development. In new studies we have examined the relationship between developmentally regulated higher-order chromatin structure, gene expression and recombination using chromosome conformation capture based approaches in combination with functional assessment of CSR. We discovered an unexpectedly high frequency of chromatin interactions among downstream CH genes. This led us to postulate that downstream S regions could recombine with each other. Our studies confirmed this hypothesis and led to a revision of the model for CSR. These studies stimulated us to search for B cell subsets that are actively engaged in CSR. Unexpectedly, B cells that are engaged in CSR become BCR negative and reside in the G1 phase of the cell cycle suggesting the presence of a DNA double strand break checkpoint. Furthermore, BCR- cells dynamically transition to IgM+ and then re-cycle to BCR-. Here we propose to profile the transcriptome of B cell subsets engaged in CSR and determine their cell fate branch point. These studies are very important since BCR negative B cells will be unresponsive to exogenous antigen and this has important implications for B cell activation.

Public Health Relevance

Understanding the genesis of IgM antibodies and secondary antibodies, IgG, IgE and IgA by B lymphocytes is of great importance due to their central function in fighting off infection. Here, we study the process by which IgM switches to secondary antibody expression. We discovered that when B cells engage in switching they transition to a unique state in which they silence all antibody expression. These findings have importance to basic immunology and genome integrity.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
1R21AI151892-01A1
Application #
10063761
Study Section
Cellular and Molecular Immunology - B Study Section (CMIB)
Program Officer
Ferguson, Stacy E
Project Start
2020-06-19
Project End
2022-05-31
Budget Start
2020-06-19
Budget End
2021-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
098987217
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60612