Production of RNA for secreted immunoglobulin mu chains does not require transcriptional termination 5' to the microM exons.

The mouse immunoglobulin mu gene encodes both secreted and surface-bound mu heavy chains produced by cells of the B lymphoid series. Transcripts of the mu gene are processed into mu mRNA species which differ at their 3' termini, bearing either 'microsecond' or 'microM' segments, distinguishing secreted and cell-membrane-bound mu polypeptides. During maturation of surface IgM-bearing B cells to IgM-secreting plasma cells, both the total amount of mu mRNA and the ratio of microsecond- to microM-terminated mRNA increase greatly. Two possible mechanisms for the developmental regulation of 3' RNA processing cannot yet be distinguished. One mechanism would yield the microsecond terminus by specific cleavage of a common presursor transcript encompassing both microsecond and the microM exons (Fig. 1), the other by regulated termination of transcription upstream from the microM exons. While the first mechanism would produce, as a by-product, RNA fragments containing microM exons, the second would not. We report here the detection of such microM fragments in cells producing predominantly microsecond-terminated RNA species.