Immunoglobulin lambda locus, also known as IGL@, is a region on the q arm of human
chromosome 22
Chromosome 22 is one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in human cells. Humans normally have two copies of chromosome 22 in each cell. Chromosome 22 is the second smallest human chromosome, spanning about 49 million DNA base pairs and representing ...
, region 11.22 (22q11.22) that contains
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
s for the lambda
light chains of
antibodies
An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of ...
(or immunoglobulins).
Function
Immunoglobulins recognize foreign
antigen
In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule or molecular structure or any foreign particulate matter or a pollen grain that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune respon ...
s and initiate immune responses such as phagocytosis and the complement system. Each immunoglobulin molecule consists of two identical heavy chains and two identical light chains. There are two classes of light chains, kappa and lambda. This region represents the germline organization of the lambda light chain locus. The locus includes V (variable), J (joining), and C (constant) segments. During B cell development, a recombination event at the DNA level joins a single V segment with a J segment; the C segment is later joined by splicing at the RNA level. Recombination of many different V segments with several J segments provides a wide range of antigen recognition. Additional diversity is attained by junctional diversity, resulting from the random additional of nucleotides by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase, and by somatic hypermutation, which occurs during B cell maturation in the spleen and lymph nodes. Several V segments and three C segments are known to be incapable of encoding a protein and are considered pseudogenes. The locus also includes several non-immunoglobulin genes, many of which are pseudogenes or are predicted by automated computational analysis or homology to other species.
Genes
The immunoglobulin lambda locus contains the following genes:
* IGLC@ – constant group
** IGLC1 – immunoglobulin lambda constant 1 (
Mcg marker
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
)
** IGLC2 – immunoglobulin lambda constant 2 (
Kern-Oz- marker)
** IGLC3 – immunoglobulin lambda constant 3 (
Kern-Oz+ marker)
** IGLC7 – immunoglobulin lambda constant 7
* IGLJ@ –
joining group Join may refer to:
* Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment
*In mathematics:
** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory
** Join (topology), an operation combining two topo ...
** IGLJn – immunoglobulin lambda joining n
** IGLJ1, IGLJ2, IGLJ3, IGLJ6, IGLJ7
* IGLV@ –
variable group
Variable may refer to:
* Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed
* Variable (mathematics), a symbol that represents a quantity in a mathematical expression, as used in many ...
** IGLVm-n – immunoglobulin lambda variable n-m
** IGLV1-36, IGLV1-40, IGLV1-44, IGLV1-47, IGLV1-51, IGLV1-62
** IGLV2-5, IGLV2-8, IGLV2-11, IGLV2-14, IGLV2-18, IGLV2-23
** IGLV3-1, IGLV3-10, IGLV3-12, IGLV3-16, IGLV3-19, IGLV3-21, IGLV3-25, IGLV3-27
** IGLV4-3, IGLV4-60, IGLV4-69
** IGLV5-37, IGLV5-39, IGLV5-45, IGLV5-52
** IGLV6-57
** IGLV7-43
** IGLV9-49
** IGLV10-54
Ig lambda chain C regions is a
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
that in humans is encoded by the ''IGLC2''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
.
References
Further reading
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