Genome Biology

official impact factor 6.89

Minireview

Secret sharers in the immune system: a novel RNA editing activity links switch recombination and somatic hypermutation

Nancy Maizels

Author Affiliations

Departments of Immunology and Biochemistry, University of Washington Medical School, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-7650, USA

Genome Biology 2000, 1:reviews1025-reviews1025.3 doi:10.1186/gb-2000-1-4-reviews1025

Published: 13 October 2000

Abstract

A new mechanism for regulation in the immune system has been identified: a cytidine deaminase is critical for both class switch recombination and somatic hypermutation, revealing an unanticipated link between these two processes.