DNA polymerase β is not essential for the formation of palindromic (P) region of T cell receptor gene

• Published in: Immunology letters 2001-08, Vol.78 (1), p.45-49
• Main Authors: Gonda, Hiroyuki, Sugai, Manabu, Katakai, Tomoya, Sugo, Noriyuki, Aratani, Yasuaki, Koyama, Hideki, Mori, Kazuhiro J., Shimizu, Akira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Cloning, Molecular; DNA Polymerase beta - deficiency; DNA Polymerase beta - genetics; DNA polymerase β; Double strand break repair; Gene knockout mouse; Immunoglobulin Joining Region - genetics; Immunoglobulin Variable Region - genetics; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; P region; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - genetics; RNA, Messenger - genetics; T cell receptor; V(D)J recombination
• ISSN: 0165-2478; 1879-0542
• DOI: 10.1016/S0165-2478(01)00232-2

Formation of palindromic (P) region at the variable (V)-diversity (D)-joining (J) junction in DNA polymerase β (pol-β) deficient mice were investigated by sequencing of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) products of mRNAs encoding the β chain of T cell receptor (TCR). Total 42 and 43 cDNA clones encoding V β8-D β-J β-C β from E18.5 embryonic thymocytes of pol-β gene knocked-out and wild type control mouse, respectively, were sequenced. Among them five and six clones from pol-β knocked-out and wild type, respectively, have P insertions of two nucleotides. This result unequivocally indicates that pol-β, which is one of the repair-type DNA polymerases most abundantly expressed in thymus and spleen, is not essential for the formation of P region.