Characterization of human gamma 4 switch region polymorphisms suggests a meiotic recombinational hot spot within the Ig locus: influence of S region length on IgG4 production.

Human gamma4 gene RFLPs, revealed after BamHI digestion, show IGHG4 alleles of 9.0 (9.2), 9.4, and 9.6 kb at various frequencies in different ethnic populations. Studies in immunodeficient individuals have previously suggested that the 9.4 BamHI allele is associated with a higher serum level of IgG4 than the 9.0 (9.2) BamHI allele, but it is not clear whether this is associated with the S region itself or other control elements. In addition, a duplication of the 9.4-kb gamma4 allele has recently been observed in a high proportion of normal donors. We therefore undertook a study of the structural basis for the difference in Ab levels in the various gamma4 alleles. We demonstrate that the Sgamma4 alleles differ in length due to deletions and insertions of a varying number of 79-bp Sgamma4 repeat units. Two novel RFLPs, 8.8 and 9.1 kb, were also observed. The alleles are likely to be generated by unequal crossing over, and the breakpoints cluster in Sgamma4 repeat units that contain chi-like motifs, implicating chi-like sequences in the meiotic recombination. Our data support the idea that the 9.4-kb BamHI allele is more productive than the 9.0 (9.2)-kb allele in normal healthy donors, possibly due to the extended switch regions, whereas duplication of the gamma4 gene has no effect on switching and IgG4 serum levels.