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. 2021 Jun 26;22(4):205–217. doi: 10.1038/s41435-021-00145-5

Fig. 5. Schematic structure of an immunoglobulin V gene.

Fig. 5

Each V gene has a promoter that contains various conserved elements, including the TATA-box. The transcription initiation site is located a few nucleotides downstream of the TATA-box and it is followed by the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR). The leader sequence serves as a signalling sequence for the translated peptide and is later cleaved off. It is encoded by L-PART1 and L-PART2, which are separated by an intron in the germline DNA. The start of L-PART1 corresponds with the start codon for translation (ATG). The V-REGION is the part of a V gene that is translated and directly contributes to the Ig paratope. At the 3′ end of a V gene lies the V recombination signal sequence (V-RS), which, as its name suggests, is essential for the recombination of a V gene with a D or J gene.