Genetic and structural evidence for antigen selection of anti-DNA antibodies.
The primary structure of anti-DNA antibodies is highly diverse, a result of different germline variable (V) gene use, different combinations of immunoglobulin gene segments, peculiar heavy chain complementarity determining region 3 (H-CDR3) segments, and somatic mutations. Nevertheless, tertiary structure predictions reveal common features that yield information about likely contact sites in the anti-DNA combining site. That these contacts are involved with DNA binding is supported by recurrent features of a newly compiled set of homology groups of 13 variable regions of heavy chains ( VH) and 11 variable regions of light chains (VL), characteristic pattern of somatic mutations, and the results of site-directed mutagenesis. The role of antigen in the etiology of the autoimmune response is viewed in light of recent data on overlaps between anti-DNA and anti-nucleic acid binding protein specificities.[1]References
- Genetic and structural evidence for antigen selection of anti-DNA antibodies. Radic, M.Z., Weigert, M. Annu. Rev. Immunol. (1994) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg