Analysis of Aiolos and OBF-1 deletions in bone marrow from 7 week old mice

The chromatin regulator Aiolos and the transcriptional coactivator OBF-1 have been implicated in regulating aspects of B cell maturation and activation. Mice lacking either of these factors have a largely normal early B cell development. However, when both factors are eliminated simultaneously a block is uncovered at the transition between pre-B and immature B cells, indicating that these proteins exert a critical function in developing B lymphocytes. In mice deficient for Aiolos and OBF-1, the numbers of immature B cells are reduced, small pre-BII cells are increased and a significant impairment in immunoglobulin light chain DNA rearrangement is observed. We identified genes whose expression is deregulated in the pre-B cell compartment of these mice. In particular, we found that components of the pre-BCR, such as the surrogate light chain genes l5l5 and VpreB, fail to be efficiently silenced in double-mutant mice. Strikingly, developmentally regulated nuclear repositioning of the l5l5 gene is impaired in pre-B cells lacking OBF-1 and Aiolos. These studies uncover a novel role for OBF-1 and Aiolos in controlling the transcription and nuclear organization of genes involved in pre-BCR function.

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Karnowski A, Cao C, Matthias G, Carotta S, Corcoran LM, Martensson IL, Skok JA, Matthias P