Project description:Activation of splenic B cells induces formation of a 220kb DNA loop between Em and 3’RR enhancers in the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (IgH). This DNA loop has been proposed to be necessary for the crucial immune diversification mechanism of IgH class switch recombination, but the factors that control its formation are unknown. We show that conditional deletion of transcription factor YY1 in primary splenic B cells results in a dramatic drop in formation of this DNA loop, as well as immunoglobulin class switch recombination. Reconstitution of YY1-deleted splenic B cells with various YY1 mutants showed that the C-terminal half of YY1 lacking the transactivation domain restored both Em-3’RR DNA loop formation as well as class switch recombination. RNA transcript analyses of YY1 conditional deleted splenic B cells suggest that YY1 does not regulate genes needed for DNA looping or CSR. Our results argue for a direct physical mechanism of YY1 mediating long-distance DNA loops and provide strong evidence of the importance of this DNA loop for class switching. Our results provide foundational mechanistic insight into a crucial immune function.
Project description:Activation of splenic B cells induces formation of a 220kb DNA loop between Em and 3â??RR enhancers in the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (IgH). This DNA loop has been proposed to be necessary for the crucial immune diversification mechanism of IgH class switch recombination, but the factors that control its formation are unknown. We show that conditional deletion of transcription factor YY1 in primary splenic B cells results in a dramatic drop in formation of this DNA loop, as well as immunoglobulin class switch recombination. Reconstitution of YY1-deleted splenic B cells with various YY1 mutants showed that the C-terminal half of YY1 lacking the transactivation domain restored both Em-3â??RR DNA loop formation as well as class switch recombination. RNA transcript analyses of YY1 conditional deleted splenic B cells suggest that YY1 does not regulate genes needed for DNA looping or CSR. Our results argue for a direct physical mechanism of YY1 mediating long-distance DNA loops and provide strong evidence of the importance of this DNA loop for class switching. Our results provide foundational mechanistic insight into a crucial immune function. Follicular B cells were isolated from the spleens of three C57Bl/6 yy1 fl/fl mice. For each spleen, half the cells received mock treatment and half received TATCRE. The 6 samples were then grown in RPMI medium along with LPS, Il4, OPI, and 20% FBS for 72 hours. The 6 groups of cells were lysed and RNA was isolated for library preparation. Expression differences between Mock and TATCRE treated cells were determined to understand the role of yy1 in B cell class switching.
Project description:B cell-specific coactivator OCA-B, together with Oct-1/2, binds to octamer sites in promoters and enhancers to activate transcription of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes, although the mechanisms underlying their roles in enhancer-promoter communication are unknown. Here, we demonstrate a direct interaction of OCA-B with transcription factor TFII-I, which binds to DICE elements in Igh promoters, that affects transcription at two levels. First, OCA-B relieves HDAC3-mediated Igh promoter repression by competing with HDAC3 for binding to promoter-bound TFII-I. Second, and most importantly, Igh 3' enhancer-bound OCA-B and promoter-bound TFII-I mediate promoter-enhancer interactions, in both cis and trans, that are important for Igh transcription. These and other results reveal an important function for OCA-B in Igh 3' enhancer function in vivo and strongly favor an enhancer mechanism involving looping and facilitated factor recruitment rather than a tracking mechanism.
Project description:Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi infection) is increasingly recognized as a significant source of morbidity world-wide. Here, we investigated B cell responses to Lyme disease through molecular identifier-enabled antibody heavy chain sequencing of bulk B cells from PBMCs. Single-cell immunoglobulin sequencing of paired heavy- and light-chain genes from this project will also be separately deposited. Additional information regarding patient characteristics and overlap with other data from the SLICE study is available upon request.
Project description:B-lymphocyte development is dictated by the protein products of functionally rearranged Ig heavy (H) and light (L) chain genes. Ig rearrangement begins in pro-B cells at the IgH locus. If pro-B cells generate a productive allele, they assemble a pre-B cell receptor complex, which signals their differentiation into pre-B cells and their clonal expansion. Pre-B cell receptor signals are also thought to contribute to allelic exclusion by preventing further IgH rearrangements. Here we show in two independent mouse models that the accumulation of a stabilized μH mRNA that does not encode μH chain protein specifically impairs pro-B cell differentiation and reduces the frequency of rearranged IgH genes in a dose-dependent manner. Because noncoding IgH mRNA is usually rapidly degraded by the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay machinery, we propose that the difference in mRNA stability allows pro-B cells to distinguish between productive and nonproductive Ig gene rearrangements and that μH mRNA may thus contribute to efficient H chain allelic exclusion.
Project description:Developing lymphocytes somatically diversify their antigen-receptor loci through V(D)J recombination. The process is associated with allelic exclusion, which results in monoallelic expression of an antigen receptor locus. Various cis-regulatory elements control V(D)J recombination in a developmentally regulated manner, but their role in allelic exclusion is still unclear. At the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus (IgH), the E? enhancer plays a critical role in V(D)J recombination. We generated a mouse line with a replacement mutation in the constant region of the locus that duplicates the E? enhancer and allows premature expression of the ?3 heavy chain. Strikingly, IgM expression was completely and specifically excluded in cis from the mutant allele. This cis exclusion recapitulated the main features of allelic exclusion, including differential exclusion of variable genes. Notably, sense and antisense transcription within the distal variable domain and distal V(H)-DJ(H) recombination were inhibited. cis exclusion was established and stably maintained despite an active endogenous E? enhancer. The data reveal the importance of the dynamic, developmental stage-dependent interplay between IgH locus enhancers and signaling in the induction and maintenance of allelic exclusion.