A hypermutable insert in an immunoglobulin transgene contains hotspots of somatic mutation and sequences predicting highly stable structures in the RNA transcript.

Immunoglobulin (Ig) genes expressed in mature B lymphocytes can undergo somatic hypermutation upon cell interaction with antigen and T cells. The mutation mechanism had previously been shown to depend upon transcription initiation, suggesting that a mutator factor was loaded on an RNA polymerase initiating at the promoter and causing mutations during elongation (Peters, A., and U. Storb. 1996. Immunity. 4:57-65). To further elucidate this process we have created an artificial substrate consisting of alternating EcoRV and PvuII restriction enzyme sites (EPS) located within the variable (V) region of an Ig transgene. This substrate can easily be assayed for the presence of mutations in DNA from transgenic lymphocytes by amplifying the EPS insert and determining by restriction enzyme digestion whether any of the restriction sites have been altered. Surprisingly, the EPS insert was mutated many times more frequently than the flanking Ig sequences. In addition there were striking differences in mutability of the different nucleotides within the restriction sites. The data favor a model of somatic hypermutation where the fine specificity of the mutations is determined by nucleotide sequence preferences of a mutator factor, and where the general site of mutagenesis is determined by the pausing of the RNA polymerase due to secondary structures within the nascent RNA.

Somatic hypermutation of a lambda 2 transgene under the control of the lambda enhancer or the heavy chain intron enhancer.

Previous experiments have suggested an important role for the Ig enhancers and transcription in targeting somatic hypermutation. To determine whether the requirement of the enhancers is Ig chain specific, we analyzed two lambda 2 light chain transgenes under the control of different enhancers, either the lambda 2-4 enhancer or the heavy chain intron enhancer. The transgenes were amplified and cloned from B220+PNAhigh B cells from either Peyer's patches (PP) or SRBC-immunized spleen. The lambda 2 transgene under the control of the lambda 2-4 enhancer underwent mutation in both the PP and splenic B cell populations, but at a frequency lower than endogenous light chain genes. This requirement for the lambda 2-4 enhancer could be replaced by the heavy chain intron enhancer. Interestingly, the heavy chain intron enhancer-driven lambda 2 construct showed evidence of statistically significant mutation in the PP B cell population, but not the spleen-derived population. This difference in somatic hypermutation suggests that a lower mutation frequency can be more readily detected in B220+PNAhigh B cells isolated from the PP. The ability of the heavy chain intron enhancer to replace the lambda 2-4 enhancer shows that the requirement for the Ig enhancers in somatic hypermutation is not Ig locus specific. Given that these Ig enhancers have very few elements in common, our results further suggest that the Ig enhancers are primarily important in the timing of transcription in the mutating B cell population.

Somatic hypermutation of an artificial test substrate within an Ig kappa transgene.

We have characterized a novel substrate for somatic hypermutation, confirming that non-Ig sequences can be targeted for mutation and demonstrating that this substrate allows for the rapid assay for mutations. An artificial sequence containing alternating EcoRV and PvuII sites (EPS) was inserted into the Vkappa167 transgene, which is known to be a target for mutation. To assay for somatic hypermutation, the EPS is amplified using flanking transgene primers, and the PCR product is subsequently digested with either EcoRV or PvuII. A mutation is seen as the appearance of a larger fragment, indicating a base change in a restriction enzyme site. The original transgene, Vkappa167/EPS, showed evidence of a low level of mutation in both splenic hybridomas and Peyer's patch-derived or immunized splenic B220+ cells with high peanut agglutinin levels. Two derivative lines of Vkappa167/EPS were made, Vkappa167/POX and Vkappa167/PEPS. While none of the Vkappa167/POX transgenic lines demonstrated mutation, the Vkappa167/PEPS transgene was highly mutated in B220+ splenic B cells with high peanut agglutinin levels at a frequency similar to that of endogenous Ig genes. An analysis of splenic RNA from the unimmunized transgenic mice indicated that the levels of stable message in splenic B cells could not be correlated with the mutation seen in GC B cells. The mutable Vkappa167/PEPS transgenic line is a unique tool to study somatic hypermutation in vivo.