J chain

Joining chain of multimeric IgA and IgM
Identifiers
Symbols JCHAIN ; IGCJ; IGJ; JCH
External IDs OMIM: 147790 MGI: 96493 HomoloGene: 16958 GeneCards: JCHAIN Gene
RNA expression pattern
More reference expression data
Orthologs
Species Human Mouse
Entrez 3512 16069
Ensembl ENSG00000132465 ENSMUSG00000067149
UniProt P01591 P01592
RefSeq (mRNA) NM_144646 NM_152839
RefSeq (protein) NP_653247 NP_690052
Location (UCSC) Chr 4:
70.66 – 70.68 Mb
Chr 5:
88.52 – 88.53 Mb
PubMed search
Immunoglobulin M (IgM) pentameric antibody molecule (consisting of five base units).
1: Base unit.
2: Heavy chains.
3: Light chains.
4: J chain.
5: Intermolecular disulfide bonds.
The dimeric IgA molecule.
1: Heavy chains.
2: Light chains.
3: J-chain.
4: Secretory component.

A J chain is a protein component of the antibodies IgM and IgA.[1] It is a 137 residue polypeptide,[2] encoded by the IGJ gene.[3][4][5]

Structure

The J Chain's molecular weight is approximately 15 kDa. It exhibits a standard immunoglobulin folding structure of two β-pleated sheets of four ribbons folded against one another. It has 8 cystine residues. Two of these residues link the α chains of IgA or the μ chains of IgM via disulfide bridges, effectively serving as the "glue" between two Fc regions of the antibody.[6]

The J-chain shows a large degree of homology between avian and human species, suggesting that it serves an important function.[6]

Function

The J Chain is required for IgM or IgA to be secreted into mucosa.[2]

Because IgM and IgA are the only two types of antibody that polymerize, initial hypotheses stated that J chain was required for polymerization. However, it was subsequently found that IgM is able to polymerize in the absence of J chain as both a pentamer and a hexamer, however, both of these exist to lesser numbers in organisms lacking J chains. In such cases, there are also fewer IgA dimers.[2]

References

  1. Levinson. Medical Microbiology and Immunology (11 ed.). McGrawHill. pp. 405–6.
  2. 1 2 3 Schroeder, Harry; Wald, David; Greenspan, Neil (2008). "Chapter 4: Immunoglobulins: Structure and Function". In Paul, William. Fundamental Immunology (Book) (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 125–151. ISBN 0-7817-6519-6.
  3. Max EE, McBride OW, Morton CC, Robinson MA (Sep 1986). "Human J chain gene: chromosomal localization and associated restriction fragment length polymorphisms". Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 83 (15): 5592–6. doi:10.1073/pnas.83.15.5592. PMC 386334. PMID 3016707.
  4. Max EE, Korsmeyer SJ (May 1985). "Human J chain gene. Structure and expression in B lymphoid cells". J Exp Med 161 (4): 832–49. doi:10.1084/jem.161.4.832. PMC 2189063. PMID 2984306.
  5. "Entrez Gene: IGJ immunoglobulin J polypeptide, linker protein for immunoglobulin alpha and mu polypeptides".
  6. 1 2 Kiyono, Hiroshi; Kunisawa, Jaw; McGhee, Jerry; Mestecky, Jiri (2008). "Chapter 31: The Mucosal Immune System". In Paul, William. Fundamental Immunology (Book) (6th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 983–1030. ISBN 0-7817-6519-6.

Further reading

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