High frequency of lambda gene activation in bone marrow pre-B cells

J Exp Med. 1984 Feb 1;159(2):617-22. doi: 10.1084/jem.159.2.617.

Abstract

The frequency of lambda light chain (L) producing cells in immunoglobulin-producing cells that have been generated in vitro from bone marrow pre-B cells was investigated. The frequency of lambda-producing cells obtained in such a culture was three- to eightfold higher than that observed in the culture of mature spleen B cells. These results suggest that the activation of lambda gene at pre-B cell stage occurs far more frequently than the frequency presumed from the percentage of lambda-bearing cells in mature B cells.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / immunology
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Antibody-Producing Cells / immunology
  • B-Lymphocytes / cytology
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Bone Marrow Cells
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Hemolytic Plaque Technique
  • Immunoglobulin Light Chains / genetics*
  • Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / genetics
  • Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains / genetics*
  • Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains / immunology
  • Lymphocyte Activation*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Stem Cells / immunology*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic
  • Immunoglobulin Light Chains
  • Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains
  • Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains