Nature Immunology
- 2, 69 - 74 (2001)
Corrected online: 10 August 2006 | doi:10.1038/83190
There is a Corrigendum (September 2006) associated with this Article.
B cell development and immunoglobulin gene transcription in the absence of Oct-2 and OBF-1Karin Schubart1, 4, Steffen Massa1, Daniel Schubart1, 5, Lynn M. Corcoran2, Antonius G. Rolink3, 4 & Patrick Matthias11
Friedrich Miescher Institute, Maulbeerstr. 66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland. 2
The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, P. O. Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria, Australia. 3
Basel Institute for Immunology, Grenzacherstr. 487, CH-4005 Basel, Switzerland. 4
These authors contributed equally to this work. 5
Present address: Axxima Pharmaceuticals AG, Am Klopferspitz 19, D-82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
Correspondence should be addressed to Patrick Matthias matthias@fmi.ch Oct-2 and OBF-1 (also called OCA-B or Bob-1) are B cell–specific transcription factors that bind to the conserved octamer site of immunoglobulin promoters, yet their role in immunoglobulin transcription has remained unclear. We generated mice in which the lymphoid compartment was reconstituted with cells that lack both Oct-2 and OBF-1. Even in the absence of these two transcription factors, B cells develop normally to the membrane immunoglobulin M–positive (IgM+) stage and immunoglobulin gene transcription is essentially unaffected. These observations imply that the ubiquitous factor Oct-1 plays a previously unrecognized role in the control of immunoglobulin gene transcription and suggest the existence of another, as yet unidentified, cofactor. In addition, both factors are essential for germinal center formation, although OBF-1 is more important than Oct-2 for IgG production after immunization.
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