Abstract
The mouse immunoglobulin μ gene encodes both secreted and surface-bound μ heavy chains produced by cells of the B lymphoid series. Transcripts of the μ gene are processed into μ mRNA species which differ at their 3′ termini, bearing either ‘μS’ or ‘μM’ segments, distinguishing secreted and cell-membrane-bound μ polypeptides1–3. During maturation of surface IgM-bearing B cells to IgM-secreting plasma cells, both the total amount of μ mRNA and the ratio of μS to μM-terminated mRNA increase greatly1,3,4. Two possible mechanisms for the developmental regulation of 3′ RNA processing cannot yet be distinguished. One mechanism would yield the μS terminus by specific cleavage of a common presursor transcript encompassing both μS and the μM exons (Fig. 1), the other by regulated termination of transcription upstream from the μM exons2,5. While the first mechanism would produce, as a by-product, RNA fragments containing μM exons, the second would not. We report here the detection of such μM fragments in cells producing predominantly μS-terminated RNA species.
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Kemp, D., Morahan, G., Cowman, A. et al. Production of RNA for secreted immunoglobulin μ chains does not require transcriptional termination 5′ to the μM exons. Nature 301, 84–86 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/301084a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/301084a0
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