Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2004 Apr, Vol.1, No.2, pp.89-94.
The Pre-B Cell Receptor and Its Function during B Cell Development

Min Zhang¹, Gopesh Srivastava¹ and Liwei Lu^{1, 2}

¹Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
²Corresponding to: Dr. Liwei Lu. Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong, 102 Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China. Tel: 852-2855-4870, Fax: 852-2872 5197, E-mail: liweilu@hkucc.hku.hk.

The process of B cell development in the bone marrow occurs by the stepwise rearrangements of the V, D, and J segments of the Ig H and L chain gene loci. During early B cell genesis, productive IgH chain gene rearrangement leads to assembly of the pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR), which acts as an important checkpoint at the pro-B/preB transitional stage. The pre-BCR, transiently expressed by developing precursor B cells, comprises the Ig μH chain, surrogate light (SL) chains VpreB and l5, as well as the signal-transducing heterodimer Iga/Igb. Signaling through the pre-BCR regulates allelic exclusion at the Ig H locus, stimulates cell proliferation, and induces differentiation to small post-mitotic pre-B cells that further undergo the rearrangement of the IgL chain genes. Recent advances in elucidating the key roles of pre-BCR in B cell development have provided a better understanding of normal B lymphopoiesis and its dysregulated state leading to B cell neoplasia.

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