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From RAGs to stitches

V(D)J recombination

Nature volume 388, pages 428–429 (1997)Cite this article

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) can be formed by ionizing radiation and, if unrepaired, they are lethal to the cell. DSBs are also made as an initial step of the programmed V(D)J recombination pathway. This is used by lymphocytes to assemble the variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) gene segments which encode the variable regions of antigen receptors.

How do cells join double-strand breaks in their chromosomal DNA? Genetic evidence has shown that to rejoin the site-specific DSBs generated during V(D)J recombination, some of the proteins that are used in all cells to rejoin other DSBs are required. However, the mechanisms by which DSB-repair proteins effect the repair reaction is unknown. Now, papers by Ramsden et al.1, Grawunder et al.2 and Wilson et al.3 on pages 488, 492 and 495 of this issue, respectively, along with studies elsewhere4,5,6, provide new insights into the joining phase of V(D)J recombination, and identify a related end-joining reaction in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

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Figure 1: Ramsden et al.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Blood Research, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    David T. Weaver & Fredrick W. Alt

  2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Childrens Hospital and Center for Blood Research, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Fredrick W. Alt

Authors
  1. David T. Weaver
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  2. Fredrick W. Alt
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Weaver, D., Alt, F. From RAGs to stitches. Nature 388, 428–429 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/41225

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