"Does activation-induced deaminase initiate antibody diversification by" by Janet Stavnezer and Sean P. Bradley

Women’s Health Research Faculty Publications

Title

Does activation-induced deaminase initiate antibody diversification by DNA deamination

Authors

Janet Stavnezer, University of Massachusetts Medical SchoolFollow
Sean P. Bradley, University of Massachustts Medical School

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology

Date

11-2002

Document Type

Article

Subjects

Antibody Diversity; B-Lymphocytes; Cytidine Deaminase; *Gene Conversion; *Genes, Immunoglobulin; Humans; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulin Variable Region

Disciplines

Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Women's Studies

Abstract

Activation-induced deaminase (AID) is expressed only in germinal center B cells. There, it is required for somatic hypermutation, gene conversion and class switch recombination of antibody variable region segments, three processes that diversify antibodies during immune responses. Although AID has homology to RNA-editing enzymes, three recent reports suggest it could initiate the diversification processes by deaminating cytidine residues within the antibody genes themselves.