V region diversity in human anti-insulin antibodies. Preferential use of a VHIII gene subset

Data on structures used by human antibody repertoires are derived principally from lymphoid malignancies and from autoantibodies that often express VH genes from the developmentally regulated fetal repertoire. To determine whether human immune responses generated by exogenous Ag use a pool of VH genes distinct from the fetal repertoire, nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences were determined for five anti-insulin B cell clones from a type I diabetic patient treated with human insulin. The data show that a set of VHIII genes is preferentially used by human anti-insulin B cells. Structural features indicate that these expressed VH are derived from germ-line genes that are not frequent in fetal repertoires and these genes have undergone Ag-driven somatic mutation. The preferential use of related VH segments contrasts with the BALB/c anti-insulin response, which uses multiple V genes elements largely unmutated from germ-line sequences. In addition, long CDRH3 structures in human anti-insulin mAb are generated by complex gene interaction mechanisms that are not seen in murine anti-insulin mAb. Interestingly, similar potential insulin-binding structures are used by antibodies from both species. These findings suggest that human responses to exogenous insulin may express a limited number of VH genes and depend upon somatic mutation and complex D gene interactions in CDRH3 to expand the repertoire. Although these antibodies bind autologous insulin, VH gene usage and structural features that predominate in the response are not characteristic of the fetal repertoire.