Immunoglobulin
Diversity - 6
Some Nice-to-Know Information:
eOnce a L or H chain gene is assembled and
becomes functional
further gene arrangements are prevented within the same B cell
Žthus antigen specificity is maintained
Žthis antigen specificity is passed on to
progeny
Žthe progeny will also have the same light
chain types (6 or 8)
eHeavy chains may undergo rearrangement
during clonal development
resulting in progeny with different classes of immunoglobulins (class switching)
eSlight changes in the tail end of constant
region of heavy
chains also determines whether the Ig is
attached to the surface
or released into circulation.
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