45 research outputs found

    Follicular lymphoma-like B cells in healthy individuals: a novel intermediate step in early lymphomagenesis

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    Follicular lymphoma is one of the most common adult lymphoma, and remains virtually incurable despite its relatively indolent nature. t(14;18)(q32;q21) translocation, the genetic hallmark and early initiating event of follicular lymphoma (FL) pathogenesis, is also present at low frequency in the peripheral blood of healthy individuals. It has long been assumed that in healthy individuals t(14;18) is carried by circulating quiescent naive B cells, where its oncogenic potential would be restrained. Here, we question this current view and demonstrate that in healthy individuals, t(14;18) is actually carried by an expanding population of atypical B cells issued from germinal centers, displaying genotypic and phenotypic features of FL, and prone to constitute potent premalignant FL niches. These findings strongly impact both on the current understanding of disease progression and on the proper handling of t(14;18) frequency in blood as a potential early biomarker for lymphoma

    Immunoglobulin diversity: analysis of the germ-line V H

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    Genetic basis for expression of the idiotypic network. One unique Ig VH germline gene accounts for the major family of Ab1 and Ab3 (Ab1') antibodies of the GAT system

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    Ig germline genes have been isolated from recombinant clones prepared in separate libraries constructed from adult BALB/c liver DNA either in pBR328 plasmid or in EMBL 3 phage. Three clones that gave a very strong positive hybridization signal with a VH anti-GAT-specific probe were completely characterized and sequenced. All three were greater than 95% homologous, with the exception of the 5' noncoding region, which was only 85% homologous but contained characteristic regulatory signals. One of these genes, H10, had a sequence that was completely identical to that of a cDNA derived from a GAT-specific BALB/c hybridoma. Southern blot analysis using Eco RI-digested DNA from rearranged GAT-specific hybridomas revealed that the same gene was used for other GAT-specific VH regions, including one differing from the H10 sequence by 12 nucleotides, which must have been generated by a somatic mechanism. The same H10 germline gene was also used, in most cases without any nucleotide substitution, in hybridomas of the Ab1' set of the GAT idiotypic cascade, suggesting that immunization with Ab2 (antiidiotypic) antibodies preferentially stimulates the direct expression of VH germline genes. Finally, the previous hypothesis that NPa and GAT VH genes were derived from the same germline gene was definitively confirmed, both from sequence data and Southern blot analysis
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