Functional antibody genes are assembled by VDJ joining and then diversified by somatic
hypermutation. This hypermutation results from stepwise incorporation of single nucleotide …

Thousands of apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP or abasic) sites form in each cell, each day. This
simple DNA lesion can have profound consequences to cellular function, genome stability …

The structural features that enable replicative DNA polymerases to synthesize DNA rapidly
and accurately also limit their ability to copy damaged DNA. Direct replication of DNA …

The expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is prerequisite to a “trifecta”
of key molecular events in B cells: class-switch recombination and somatic hypermutation in …

▪ Abstract DNA repair is crucial to the well-being of all organisms from unicellular life forms to
humans. A rich tapestry of mechanistic studies on DNA repair has emerged thanks to the …

Affinity maturation of the humoral response is mediated by somatic hypermutation of the
immunoglobulin (Ig) genes and selection of higher-affinity B cell clones. Activation-induced …

Class switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM) have been considered
to be mediated by different molecular mechanisms because both target DNAs and DNA …

Antibody-mediated immunity is critical to the resistance of vertebrate species to pathogenic
organisms. Although low-affinity immunoglobin (Ig) M antibodies circulate in the blood prior …

In response to an assault by foreign organisms, peripheral B cells can change their antibody
affinity and isotype by somatically mutating their genomic DNA. The ability of a cell to modify …

Three processes alter genomic sequence and structure at the immunoglobulin genes of B
lymphocytes: gene conversion, somatic hypermutation, and class switch recombination …