B細胞性リンパ腫と免疫グロブリン遺伝子のsomatic mutation

抄録

Antibody molecules produced by B cells are engaged in the humoral immunity. Antibodies have molecular diversity to respond specifically to each of innumerable species of antigen. Antibody molecular diversity is the immediate result of immunoglobulin gene diversity which is formed by complicated processes including VDJ rearrangement and is thought to reflect differentiation status of B cells. Somatic mutation occurs in these immunoglobulin genes after main VDJ rearrangement and also plays an important role in further widening of molecular diversity.
In recent years, the significance of somatic mutation of immunoglobulin gene in B-cell differentiation process was made clear, and as the result, identification of the normal counterpart of tumor cells became possible on gene level studies, which had been judged mainly from histocytological and immunohistochemical studies.