On page 1191, Delbos and colleagues provide the first proof that the error-prone polymerase η (polη) is responsible for mutations at A-T base pairs during somatic hypermutation (SHM) of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes in mice. But when polη is removed from mice, another sloppy enzyme, not previously thought to contribute to SHM, can fill in as a pinch hitter.
SHM generates high affinity antibodies in response to antigenic challenge; it does so by introducing point mutations into the antigen-binding regions of B cell antibody genes. Mutations at C-G base pairs during SHM are the work of the enzyme AID (activation-induced cytidine deaminase), which turns cytosine into uracil. A-T mutations have been harder to explain. Error-prone polymerases are thought be the culprits behind A-T mutation, but specific roles for these enzymes have been difficult to assign, as mice lacking individual polymerases have thus far shown no...
