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Molecular Mechanisms of Isotype Switching to IgE

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Allergy and Allergic Diseases

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Abstract

During an immune response, B-lymphocytes express different immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy-chain isotypes sharing the same variable region. This phenomenon (isotype switching) allows a single B-cell clone to produce antibodies with the same fine specificity, but different effector functions. In order to switch to a particular isotype, a B-cell needs to receive two signals: signal 1 is cytokine-dependent, results in the activation of transcription at a specific region of the Ig locus, and determines isotype specificity. Signal 2 activates the recombination machinery, and leads to DNA switch recombination.

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Authors
  1. Donata Vercelli MD
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Judah A. Denburg MD, FRCP(C)

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Vercelli, D. (1998). Molecular Mechanisms of Isotype Switching to IgE. In: Denburg, J.A. (eds) Allergy and Allergic Diseases. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2776-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2776-0_1

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61737-026-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2776-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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