Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Insertions and deletions in hypervariable loops of antibody heavy chains contribute to molecular diversity

Ohlin, Mats LU orcid and Borrebaeck, C. A K LU (1998) In Molecular Immunology 35(4). p.233-238
Abstract

Antibody diversity, a molecular feature which allows these proteins to specifically interact with a diverse set of targets, is created at the genetic level by a variety of means. These include germline gene segment recombination, junctional diversity and single basepair (bp) substitution. We here demonstrate that a human high affinity antibody specific for an exogenous protein antigen carry three amino acid residues immediately adjacent to the first hypervariable loop of the heavy chain. These additional residues are shown not to be encoded by the germline repertoire. We also describe the characteristics of insertions and deletions, not found in any known germline sequence, within the first and second hypervariable loops of other... (More)

Antibody diversity, a molecular feature which allows these proteins to specifically interact with a diverse set of targets, is created at the genetic level by a variety of means. These include germline gene segment recombination, junctional diversity and single basepair (bp) substitution. We here demonstrate that a human high affinity antibody specific for an exogenous protein antigen carry three amino acid residues immediately adjacent to the first hypervariable loop of the heavy chain. These additional residues are shown not to be encoded by the germline repertoire. We also describe the characteristics of insertions and deletions, not found in any known germline sequence, within the first and second hypervariable loops of other previously described antibody-encoding genes. These findings demonstrate that insertions or deletions of entire codons provide yet another approach by which the human antibody repertoire is diversified in vivo. Since these major genetic modifications occur within or immediately adjacent to loops contributing to the antigen-binding site, they are likely to affect the binding properties of the mutated antibodies.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Deletion, Immunoglobulin gene, Immunoglobulin variable region, Insertion, Somatic mutation
in
Molecular Immunology
volume
35
issue
4
pages
6 pages
publisher
Pergamon Press Ltd.
external identifiers
  • scopus:0031858512
  • pmid:9736339
ISSN
0161-5890
DOI
10.1016/S0161-5890(98)00030-3
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b9388644-afec-48a0-a128-a7bf7b5a4d5e
date added to LUP
2016-04-19 14:06:47
date last changed
2024-01-03 23:58:08
@article{b9388644-afec-48a0-a128-a7bf7b5a4d5e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Antibody diversity, a molecular feature which allows these proteins to specifically interact with a diverse set of targets, is created at the genetic level by a variety of means. These include germline gene segment recombination, junctional diversity and single basepair (bp) substitution. We here demonstrate that a human high affinity antibody specific for an exogenous protein antigen carry three amino acid residues immediately adjacent to the first hypervariable loop of the heavy chain. These additional residues are shown not to be encoded by the germline repertoire. We also describe the characteristics of insertions and deletions, not found in any known germline sequence, within the first and second hypervariable loops of other previously described antibody-encoding genes. These findings demonstrate that insertions or deletions of entire codons provide yet another approach by which the human antibody repertoire is diversified in vivo. Since these major genetic modifications occur within or immediately adjacent to loops contributing to the antigen-binding site, they are likely to affect the binding properties of the mutated antibodies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Ohlin, Mats and Borrebaeck, C. A K}},
  issn         = {{0161-5890}},
  keywords     = {{Deletion; Immunoglobulin gene; Immunoglobulin variable region; Insertion; Somatic mutation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{233--238}},
  publisher    = {{Pergamon Press Ltd.}},
  series       = {{Molecular Immunology}},
  title        = {{Insertions and deletions in hypervariable loops of antibody heavy chains contribute to molecular diversity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0161-5890(98)00030-3}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/S0161-5890(98)00030-3}},
  volume       = {{35}},
  year         = {{1998}},
}