Figure 7.

V(D)J Recombination in Lymphocytes and NHEJ. (A) RAG1 and RAG2 lymphoid-specific proteins recognize RSS located adjacent to V, D, and J coding segments. RAG1 and RAG2 initiate the cleavage phase and introduce a pair of DSBs between the RSS and the V, D, and J coding segments resulting in hairpin coding ends or blunt phosphorylated ends (not depicted). (B) NHEJ machinery will then recognize the hairpin coding end and repair RAG generated breaks to (C) create a diverse repertoire of antibodies and antigen receptors.