scholarly journals Bacterial lectin BambL acts as a B cell superantigen

Author(s):  
Marco Frensch ◽  
Christina Jäger ◽  
Peter F. Müller ◽  
Annamaria Tadić ◽  
Isabel Wilhelm ◽  
...  

AbstractB cell superantigens crosslink conserved domains of B cell receptors (BCRs) and cause dysregulated, polyclonal B cell activation irrespective of normal BCR-antigen complementarity. The cells typically succumb to activation-induced cell death, which can impede the adaptive immune response and favor infection. In the present study, we demonstrate that the fucose-binding lectin of Burkholderia ambifaria, BambL, bears functional resemblance to B cell superantigens. By engaging surface glycans, the bacterial lectin activated human peripheral blood B cells, which manifested in the surface expression of CD69, CD54 and CD86 but became increasingly cytotoxic at higher concentrations. The effects were sensitive to BCR pathway inhibitors and excess fucose, which corroborates a glycan-driven mode of action. Interactome analyses in a model cell line suggest BambL binds directly to glycans of the BCR and regulatory coreceptors. In vitro, BambL triggered BCR signaling and induced CD19 internalization and degradation. Owing to the lectin’s six binding sites, we propose a BCR activation model in which BambL functions as a clustering hub for receptor glycans, modulates normal BCR regulation, and induces cell death through exhaustive activation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1046.1-1046
Author(s):  
L. Schlicher ◽  
P. Kulig ◽  
M. Murphy ◽  
M. Keller

Background:Cenerimod is a potent, selective, and orally active sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) modulator that is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2b study in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (NCT03742037). S1P1 receptor modulators sequester circulating lymphocytes within lymph nodes, thereby reducing pathogenic autoimmune cells (including B lymphocytes) in the blood stream and in inflamed tissues. Extensive clinical experience has become available for the nonselective S1P receptor modulator fingolimod in relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, supporting this therapeutic concept for the treatment of autoimmune disorders.Objectives:Although the effect of S1P-receptor modulators in reducing peripheral B cells is well documented1,2, the role of the S1P1 receptor on this cell type is only incompletely understood. In this study, the mode of action of cenerimod on primary human B cells was investigated in a series of in vitro experiments, including S1P1 receptor cell surface expression and chemotaxis towards S1P. Moreover, S1P1 expression following B cell activation in vitro was studied. As glucocorticoids (GC) are frequently used in the treatment of patients with autoimmune disorders including SLE, the potential influence of GC on the mode of action of cenerimod was evaluated.Methods:Primary human B lymphocytes from healthy donors were isolated from whole blood. In one set of experiments, cells were treated with different concentrations of cenerimod to measure S1P1 receptor internalization by flow cytometry. In a second set of experiments, isolated B cells were activated using different stimuli or left untreated. Cells were then analysed for S1P1 and CD69 cell surface expression and tested in a novel real-time S1P-mediated migration assay. In addition, the effect of physiological concentrations of GCs (prednisolone and prednisone) on cenerimod activity in preventing S1P mediated migration was tested.Results:In vitro, cenerimod led to a dose-dependent internalization of the S1P1 receptor on primary human B lymphocytes. Cenerimod also blocked migration of nonactivated and activated B lymphocytes towards S1P in a concentration-dependent manner, which is in line with the retention of lymphocytes in the lymph node and the reduction of circulating lymphocytes observed in the clinical setting. Upon B cell activation, which was monitored by CD69 upregulation, a simultaneous downregulation of S1P1 expression was detected, leading to less efficient S1P-directed cell migration. Importantly, physiological concentrations of GC did not affect the inhibitory activity of cenerimod on B cell migration.Conclusion:These results show that cenerimod, by modulating S1P1, blocks B lymphocyte migration towards its natural chemoattractant S1P and demonstrate compatibility of cenerimod with GC. These results are consistent with results of comparable experiments done previously using primary human T lymphocytes.References:[1]Nakamura M et al., Mult Scler. 2014 Sep; 20(10):1371-80.[2]Strasser DS et al., RMD Open 2020;6:e001261.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (571) ◽  
pp. eaao7194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Wilhelm ◽  
Ella Levit-Zerdoun ◽  
Johanna Jakob ◽  
Sarah Villringer ◽  
Marco Frensch ◽  
...  

Bacterial lectins are typically multivalent and bind noncovalently to specific carbohydrates on host tissues to facilitate bacterial adhesion. Here, we analyzed the effects of two fucose-binding lectins, BambL fromBurkholderia ambifariaand LecB fromPseudomonas aeruginosa, on specific signaling pathways in B cells. We found that these bacterial lectins induced B cell activation, which, in vitro, was dependent on the cell surface expression of the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) and its co-receptor CD19, as well as on spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) activity. The resulting release of intracellular Ca2+was followed by an increase in the cell surface abundance of the activation marker CD86, augmented cytokine secretion, and subsequent cell death, replicating all of the events that are observed in vitro upon canonical and antigen-mediated B cell activation. Moreover, injection of BambL in mice resulted in a substantial, BCR-independent loss of B cells in the bone marrow with simultaneous, transient enlargement of the spleen (splenomegaly), as well as an increase in the numbers of splenic B cells and myeloid cells. Together, these data suggest that bacterial lectins can initiate polyclonal activation of B cells through their sole capacity to bind to fucose.


2004 ◽  
Vol 200 (6) ◽  
pp. 737-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Xiao Zhu ◽  
Sally Benn ◽  
Zhi Hua Li ◽  
Ellen Wei ◽  
Esther Masih-Khan ◽  
...  

HACS1 is a Src homology 3 and sterile alpha motif domain–containing adaptor that is preferentially expressed in normal hematopoietic tissues and malignancies including myeloid leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Microarray data showed HACS1 expression is up-regulated in activated human B cells treated with interleukin (IL)-4, CD40L, and anti–immunoglobulin (Ig)M and clustered with genes involved in signaling, including TNF receptor–associated protein 1, signaling lymphocytic activation molecule, IL-6, and DEC205. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that HACS1 is up-regulated by IL-4, IL-13, anti-IgM, and anti-CD40 in human peripheral blood B cells. In murine spleen B cells, Hacs1 can also be up-regulated by lipopolysaccharide but not IL-13. Induction of Hacs1 by IL-4 is dependent on Stat6 signaling and can also be impaired by inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase C, and nuclear factor κB. HACS1 associates with tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins after B cell activation and binds in vitro to the inhibitory molecule paired Ig-like receptor B. Overexpression of HACS1 in murine spleen B cells resulted in a down-regulation of the activation marker CD23 and enhancement of CD138 expression, IgM secretion, and Xbp-1 expression. Knock down of HACS1 in a human B lymphoma cell line by small interfering ribonucleic acid did not significantly change IL-4–stimulated B cell proliferation. Our study demonstrates that HACS1 is up-regulated by B cell activation signals and is a participant in B cell activation and differentiation.


1989 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary K. Crow ◽  
Barbara Kushner ◽  
Juan A. Jover ◽  
Steven M. Friedman ◽  
Susan E. Mechanic ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (11) ◽  
pp. 5547-5560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuo-Hsuan Hung ◽  
Yong H Woo ◽  
I-Ying Lin ◽  
Chin-Hsiu Liu ◽  
Li-Chieh Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract T follicular helper (Tfh) cell-derived signals promote activation and proliferation of antigen-primed B cells. It remains unclear whether epigenetic regulation is involved in the B cell responses to Tfh cell-derived signals. Here, we demonstrate that Tfh cell-mimicking signals induce the expression of histone demethylases KDM4A and KDM4C, and the concomitant global down-regulation of their substrates, H3K9me3/me2, in B cells. Depletion of KDM4A and KDM4C potentiates B cell activation and proliferation in response to Tfh cell-derived signals. ChIP-seq and de novo motif analysis reveals NF-κB p65 as a binding partner of KDM4A and KDM4C. Their co-targeting to Wdr5, a MLL complex member promoting H3K4 methylation, up-regulates cell cycle inhibitors Cdkn2c and Cdkn3. Thus, Tfh cell-derived signals trigger KDM4A/KDM4C - WDR5 - Cdkn2c/Cdkn3 cascade in vitro, an epigenetic mechanism regulating proper proliferation of activated B cells. This pathway is dysregulated in B cells from systemic lupus erythematosus patients and may represent a pathological link.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 997-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Varfolomeev ◽  
Frank Kischkel ◽  
Flavius Martin ◽  
Dhaya Seshasayee ◽  
Hua Wang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily. APRIL mRNA shows high levels of expression in tumors of different origin and a low level of expression in normal cells. APRIL shares two TNF receptor family members, TACI and BCMA, with another TNF homolog, BLyS/BAFF. BLyS is involved in regulation of B-cell activation and survival and also binds to a third receptor, BR3/BAFF-R, which is not shared with APRIL. Recombinant APRIL and BLyS induce accumulation of B cells in mice, while BLyS deficiency results in severe B-cell dysfunction. To investigate the physiological role of APRIL, we generated mice that are deficient in its encoding gene. APRIL−/− mice were viable and fertile and lacked any gross abnormality. Detailed histological analysis did not reveal any defects in major tissues and organs, including the primary and secondary immune organs. T- and B-cell development and in vitro function were normal as well, as were T-cell-dependent and -independent in vivo humoral responses to antigenic challenge. These data indicate that APRIL is dispensable in the mouse for proper development. Thus, BLyS may be capable of fulfilling APRIL's main functions.


Blood ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 1299-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideya Igarashi ◽  
Nobuo Sakaguchi

Abstract To understand the molecular events for the proliferation of B cells, we studied the induction of telomerase activity in vitro after stimulation to B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) on human peripheral B cells. Although unstimulated purified B cells of tonsils and peripheral blood from healthy volunteers do not express detectable telomerase activity, anti-IgM beads induce telomerase activity in these B cells. Soluble anti-IgM antibody (Ab) alone does not induce telomerase activity, but the second signal, given by either one of the cytokines of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, and IL-13 or by anti-CD40 monoclonal Ab (MoAb), is effective as the costimulation for the induction of the activity. Stimulation with antiIgM Ab and anti-CD40 MoAb induces telomerase activity in most mature B cells of the tonsils and peripheral blood. The stimuli to both IgM and IgD receptors similarly induce the activity. Induction of telomerase activity is accompanied with the proliferation of B cells, but is not absolutely correlated with the extent of B-cell growth. Phorbol dibutylate (PDB) plus calcium (Ca) ionophore (PDB/Ca), which replace the activation through BCR and the costimulatory molecules, also induce telomerase activity. Moreover, it is suggested that phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase plays a role for the induction of telomerase activity in B cells stimulated with anti-IgM Ab and anti-CD40 MoAb. These results suggest that telomerase activity is induced in the B-cell activation of the antigen specific immune response.


1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 623-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard Schwartz-Albiez ◽  
Bernd Dörken ◽  
Davidv A. Monner ◽  
Gerhard Moldenhauer

2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (22) ◽  
pp. 12525-12534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Woods ◽  
Fanny Monneaux ◽  
Pauline Soulas-Sprauel ◽  
Sylviane Muller ◽  
Thierry Martin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The link between infection and autoimmunity is not yet well understood. This study was designed to evaluate if an acute viral infection known to induce type I interferon production, like influenza, can by itself be responsible for the breakdown of immune tolerance and for autoimmunity. We first tested the effects of influenza virus on B cells in vitro. We then infected different transgenic mice expressing human rheumatoid factors (RF) in the absence or in the constitutive presence of the autoantigen (human immunoglobulin G [IgG]) and young lupus-prone mice [(NZB × NZW)F1] with influenza virus and looked for B-cell activation. In vitro, the virus induces B-cell activation through type I interferon production by non-B cells but does not directly stimulate purified B cells. In vivo, both RF and non-RF B cells were activated in an autoantigen-independent manner. This activation was abortive since IgM and IgM-RF production levels were not increased in infected mice compared to uninfected controls, whether or not anti-influenza virus human IgG was detected and even after viral rechallenge. As in RF transgenic mice, acute viral infection of (NZB × NZW)F1 mice induced only an abortive activation of B cells and no increase in autoantibody production compared to uninfected animals. Taken together, these experiments show that virus-induced acute type I interferon production is not able by itself to break down B-cell tolerance in both normal and autoimmune genetic backgrounds.


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