The most JH-proximal VH gene segments are used highly preferentially to form VHDJH rearrangements in pre-B-cell lines. This result demonstrates that the rate at which immunoglobulin V H gene segments recombine is influenced by their chromosomal organization, and that the initial repertoire ofVH genes expressed in pre-B cells is strikingly different from that seen in mature populations. © 1984 Nature Publishing Group.
