Project description:A diverse antibody repertoire is formed through the rearrangement of V, D, and J segments at the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) loci. The C57BL/6 murine Igh locus has over 100 functional VH gene segments that can recombine to a rearranged DJH. While the non-random usage of VH genes is well documented, it is not clear what elements determine recombination frequency. To answer this question we conducted deep sequencing of 5M-bM-^@M-^Y-RACE products of the Igh repertoire in pro-B cells, amplified in an unbiased manner. ChIP-seq results for several histone modifications and RNA polymerase II binding, RNA-seq for sense and antisense non-coding germline transcripts, and proximity to CTCF and Rad21 sites were compared to the usage of individual V genes. Computational analyses assessed the relative importance of these various accessibility elements. These elements divide the Igh locus into four epigenetically and transcriptionally distinct domains, and our computational analyses reveal different regulatory mechanisms for each region. Proximal V genes are relatively devoid of active histone marks and non-coding RNA in general, but having a CTCF site near their RSS is critical, suggesting that position near the base of the chromatin loops is important for rearrangement. In contrast, distal V genes have high levels of histone marks and non-coding RNA, which may compensate for their poorer RSS and for being distant from CTCF sites. Thus, the Igh locus has evolved a complex system for the regulation of V(D)J rearrangement that is different for of each the four domains that comprise this locus. For the ChIP-seq, input and immunoprecipitated DNA was given to The Scripps DNA Array Facility, where it was prepared for massively parallel sequencing on Illumina HiSeq2000.
Project description:The immunoglobulin heavy-chain (Igh) locus undergoes large-scale contraction in pro-B cells, which facilitates VH-DJH recombination by juxtaposing distal VH genes next to the DJH- rearranged gene segment in the proximal Igh domain. By high-resolution mapping of long-range interactions, we now demonstrate that an array of local interaction domains establishes the three- dimensional structure of the extended Igh locus in lymphoid progenitors and thymocytes. In pro- B cells, these local domains engage in long-range interactions across the entire Igh locus, which depend on the transcription factors Pax5, YY1 and CTCF. The large VH gene cluster thereby undergoes flexible long-range interactions with the more rigidly structured 3M-bM-^@M-^Y proximal domain, which ensures that all VH genes can participate with similar probability in VH-DJH recombination to generate a diverse antibody repertoire. Notably, these long-range interactions appear to be an intrinsic feature of the VH gene cluster, as they are still generated upon mutation of the EM-NM-< enhancer, IGCR1 insulator or 3M-bM-^@M-^Y regulatory region present in the 3M-bM-^@M-^Y proximal Igh domain. 4C sequencing from mutliple celltypes with multiple viewpoints; uneven number of replicates ChIP-Seq
Project description:Generation of the primary antibody repertoire requires V(D)J recombination of hundreds of gene segments in the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) locus. It has been proposed that interleukin-7 receptor (IL-7R) signalling is necessary for Igh recombination, but this has been challenging to partition from the receptor’s role in B cell survival and proliferation. By generating the first detailed description of the Igh repertoire of murine IL-7Ra-/- bone marrow B cells, we demonstrate that IL-7R signalling profoundly influences VH gene selection during VH-to-DJH recombination. We find skewing towards usage of 3’ VH genes during de novo VH-to-DJH recombination that is more severe than the fetal liver (FL) B cell repertoire, and we now show a role for IL-7R signalling in DH-to-JH recombination. Transcriptome and accessibility analyses suggests reduced expression of B lineage-specific transcription factors (TFs) and their targets, and loss of DH and VH antisense transcription in IL-7Rα-/- B cells. These results refute models suggesting that IL-7R signalling is only required for survival and proliferation, and demonstrate a pivotal role in shaping the Igh repertoire by activating underpinning epigenetic mechanisms.
Project description:We used 454 sequencing to assess the repertoire of B cell subsets from bone marrow, spleen, and small intestinal lamina propria from two mouse strains. We used a RAG2-GFP reporter mouse strain (129Sve background) to isolate CD19+ RAG2+ B lineage cells from bone marrow and small intestinal lamina propria and total splenic B cells. We used 5' RACE to amplify cDNA libraries using primers specific for the mu constant region of IgH and the Ig kappa constant region. We also used this technique to analyze total B cell libraries from Swiss Webster germ-free mice to compare to littermate controls that were cohoused with regular specific pathogen free (SPF) mice for 7 days. Examination of the Ig kappa repertoire and IgH repertoire in RAG2+ bone marrow B lineage cells compared to RAG2+ small intestinal lamina propria B lineage cells or total splenic B cells. There are 8 (Ig kappa) or 4 (IgH) independent experiments comparing repertoires in RAG2-GFP mice. Each experiment in RAG2-GFP+ mice consisted of a pool of 8-12 mice. There are 3 experiments comparing germ-free to colonized mouse total B cell repertoires, each consisting of one mouse per condition.
Project description:Triplicate RNA-seq expression analysis of bone marrow pre-B cells isolated from mice, to demonstrate repertoire at the IgH locus Triplicate RNA-seq expression analysis of bone marrow pre-B cells
Project description:To in-depth analyze the repertoire of B cells after the occurrence of recombination events joining SÙ to the IgH downstream regulatory region (3'RR)
Project description:A diverse antibody repertoire is formed through the rearrangement of V, D, and J segments at the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) loci. The C57BL/6 murine Igh locus has over 100 functional VH gene segments that can recombine to a rearranged DJH. While the non-random usage of VH genes is well documented, it is not clear what elements determine recombination frequency. To answer this question we conducted deep sequencing of 5’-RACE products of the Igh repertoire in pro-B cells, amplified in an unbiased manner. ChIP-seq results for several histone modifications and RNA polymerase II binding, RNA-seq for sense and antisense non-coding germline transcripts, and proximity to CTCF and Rad21 sites were compared to the usage of individual V genes. Computational analyses assessed the relative importance of these various accessibility elements. These elements divide the Igh locus into four epigenetically and transcriptionally distinct domains, and our computational analyses reveal different regulatory mechanisms for each region. Proximal V genes are relatively devoid of active histone marks and non-coding RNA in general, but having a CTCF site near their RSS is critical, suggesting that position near the base of the chromatin loops is important for rearrangement. In contrast, distal V genes have high levels of histone marks and non-coding RNA, which may compensate for their poorer RSS and for being distant from CTCF sites. Thus, the Igh locus has evolved a complex system for the regulation of V(D)J rearrangement that is different for of each the four domains that comprise this locus.