The Molecular Logic of Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Class Switch Recombination
locus, followed by double-strand break repair through end-joining pathways. Recent advances have revealed that CSR is tightly regulated by transcriptional activation, chromatin topology, and dynamic loop extrusion, which together orchestrate the synapsis of distant S regions. Moreover, emerging evidence highlights the roles of transcriptional R-loops, G-quadruplex structures, and enhancer-driven chromatin remodeling in recruiting AID to S regions. In this article, we synthesize our current understanding of the mechanisms that control CSR, emphasizing how genome architecture and transcriptional dynamics collaborate with DNA repair pathways to maintain a balance between antibody diversity and genomic stability.
Authors
- William T. Yewdell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5712-1896)
- Stephanie Downs‐Canner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6870-3285)
- Jayanta Chaudhuri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3838-0075)
- Keith Conrad Fernandez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3757-8271)
Institutions
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
- Gene Therapy Laboratory (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Annual Review of Immunology
- Published
- 2026-04-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-immunol-082323-121803
- Primary Topic
- T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00