Isotype switching and immunoglobulin gene rearrangement by somatic recombination are both ...

(1) Gene rearrangements affect the variable region of immunoglobulins, whereas isotype switching affects the constant region. (2) Different recombination-signal sequences and enzymes are used for the two processes. (3) Isotype switching occurs only after antigen stimulation, whereas gene rearrangement occurs only during B-cell maturation in the bone marrow. (4) All isotype switch recombinations are productive, but not all gene rearrangements are. (5) Only heavy chains are involved in isotype switching, whereas both heavy-chain and light-chain genes are involved in somatic recombination.