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J. Exp. Med.,
Volume 187, Number 9, May 4, 1998 1495-1503
Usage In Vivo
By
The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Immunology, La Jolla, California 92037
Functional variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments contribute unequally to
the primary repertoire. One factor contributing to this nonrandom usage is the relative frequency with which the different gene segments rearrange. Variation from the consensus sequence in the heptamer and nonamer of the recombination signal sequence (RSS) is therefore
considered a major factor affecting the relative representation of gene segments in the primary
repertoire. In this study, we show that the sequence of the spacer is also a determinant factor
contributing to the frequency of rearrangement. Moreover, the effect of the spacer on recombination rates of various human V
gene segments in vitro correlates with their frequency of
rearrangement in vivo in pre-B cells and with their representation in the peripheral repertoire.
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