Expression of immunoglobulin heavy chain at a high level in the absence of a proposed immunoglobulin enhancer element in cis.

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Abstract
The major intron between the J and C gene segments of the [mouse] Ig H chain locus contains an enhancer-like sequence, and it has been proposed that this enhancer is necessary to achieve high levels of H chain expression. A subclone of the lymphoid pre-B cell line 18-81 that lacks this enhancer but nevertheless produces .mu. chain at the level characteristic of pre-B cells was isolated. Another subclone with a larger deletion does not produce .mu. chain but upon fusion with a myeloma that does not produce any Ig chain, .mu. chain is expressed by the homologue from the pre-B subclone. The hybridoma lacks the proposed enhancer element in cis; nevertheless it produces as much .mu. chain as other plasma cell hybridomas. Thus, this enhancer element is not obligatory for a high level of H chain production.