However, recent work has revealed avid binding of HIV gp120 to a conserved immunoglobulin motif unique to the VH3 gene family and the selective gp120-induced activation of VH3 B cells in vitro.
However, B cells of the fetus and certain autoantibody-producing clones are restricted to a recurrent subset of VH3 genes, and VH3 B cells are deficient in certain immunodeficiency diseases.