The Journal of Experimental Medicine
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Published online 25 November 2002 doi:10.1084/jem.20001871
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© Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007/2002/12/1483/ $5.00
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Volume 196, Number 11, December 2, 2002 1483-1495

DNA-dependent Protein Kinase Activity Is Not Required for Immunoglobulin Class Switching

Gayle C. Bosma1, Jiyoon Kim1, Teresa Urich1, Donna M. Fath1, Maria G. Cotticelli1, Norman R. Ruetsch1, Marko Z. Radic2 and Melvin J. Bosma1

1 Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA 19111
2 Department of Molecular Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN 38163

Address correspondence to Melvin J. Bosma, Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase Cancer Center, 7701 Burholme Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19111. Phone: 215 728-3630; Fax: 215 728-2412; E-mail: MJ_Bosma{at}fccc.edu

Class switch recombination (CSR), similar to V(D)J recombination, is thought to involve DNA double strand breaks and repair by the nonhomologous end–joining pathway. A key component of this pathway is DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), consisting of a catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) and a DNA-binding heterodimer (Ku70/80). To test whether DNA-PKcs activity is essential for CSR, we examined whether IgM+ B cells from scid mice with site-directed H and L chain transgenes were able to undergo CSR. Although B cells from these mice were shown to lack DNA-PKcs activity, they were able to switch from IgM to IgG or IgA with close to the same efficiency as B cells from control transgenic and nontransgenic scid/+ mice, heterozygous for the scid mutation. We conclude that CSR, unlike V(D)J recombination, can readily occur in the absence of DNA-PKcs activity. We suggest nonhomologous end joining may not be the (primary or only) mechanism used to repair DNA breaks during CSR.

Key Words: Ig transgenes • scid B cells • nonhomologous end joining • B cell anergy


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