Signalling circuits that direct early B-cell development

2019 ◽  
Vol 476 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Petkau ◽  
Martin Turner

Abstract In mammals, the B-cell lineage arises from pluripotent progenitors in the bone marrow. During their development, B-cells undergo lineage specification and commitment, followed by expansion and selection. These processes are mediated by regulated changes in gene expression programmes, rearrangements of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes, and well-timed rounds of proliferation and apoptosis. Many of these processes are initiated by environmental factors including cytokines, chemokines, and cell–cell contacts. Developing B-cells process these environmental cues into stage-specific functions via signalling pathways including the PI3K, MAPK, or JAK-STAT pathway. The cytokines FLT3-Ligand and c-Kit-Ligand are important for the early expansion of the B-cell precursors at different developmental stages and conditions. Interleukin 7 is essential for commitment to the B-cell lineage and for orchestrating the Ig recombination machinery. After rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy chain, proliferation and apoptosis, and thus selection, are mediated by the clonal pre-B-cell receptor, and, following light chain rearrangement, by the B-cell receptor.

2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (24) ◽  
pp. 9364-9376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renren Wen ◽  
Yuhong Chen ◽  
Li Bai ◽  
Guoping Fu ◽  
James Schuman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2) is a critical signaling effector of the B-cell receptor (BCR). Here we show that PLCγ2 deficiency impedes early B-cell development, resulting in an increase of B220+ CD43+ BP-1+ CD24hi pre-BCR+ large pre-B cells. PLCγ2 deficiency impairs pre-BCR-mediated functions, leading to enhanced interleukin-7 (IL-7) signaling and elevated levels of RAGs in the selected large pre-B cells. Consequently, PLCγ2 deficiency renders large pre-B cells susceptible to transformation, resulting in dramatic acceleration of Myc-induced lymphomagenesis. PLCγ2 −/− Eμ-Myc transgenic mice mainly develop lymphomas of B220+ CD43+ BP-1+ CD24hi pre-BCR+ large pre-B-cell origin, which are uncommon in wild-type Eμ-Myc transgenics. Furthermore, lymphomas from PLCγ2 −/− Eμ-Myc transgenic mice exhibited a loss of p27Kip1 and often displayed alterations in Arf or p53. Thus, PLCγ2 plays an important role in pre-BCR-mediated early B-cell development, and its deficiency leads to markedly increased pools of the most at-risk large pre-B cells, which display hyperresponsiveness to IL-7 and express high levels of RAGs, making them prone to secondary mutations and Myc-induced malignancy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arancha Rodríguez-Caballero ◽  
Blanca Fuentes Herrero ◽  
Guillermo Oliva Ariza ◽  
Ignacio Criado ◽  
Miguel Alcoceba ◽  
...  

The HCDR3 sequences of the B-cell receptor (BCR) undergo constraints in length, amino acid use, and charge during maturation of B-cell precursors and after antigen encounter, leading to BCR and antibodies with high affinity to specific antigens. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia consists of an expansion of B-cells with a mixed immature and “antigen-experienced” phenotype, with either a mutated (M-CLL) or unmutated (U-CLL) tumor BCR, associated with distinct patient outcomes. Here, we investigated the hydropathy index of the BCR of 138 CLL patients and its association with the IGHV mutational status and patient outcome. Overall, two clearly distinct subgroups of M-CLL patients emerged, based on a neutral (mean hydropathy index of -0.1) vs. negatively charged BCR (mean hydropathy index of -1.1) with molecular features closer to those of B-cell precursors and peripheral/mature B-cells, respectively. Despite that M-CLL with neutral HCDR3 did not show traits associated with a mature B-cell repertoire, important differences in IGHV gene usage of tumor cells and patient outcome were observed in this subgroup of patients once compared to both U-CLL and M-CLL with negatively charged HCDR3 sequences. Compared to M-CLL with negatively charged HCDR3 sequences, M-CLL with neutral HCDR3 sequences showed predominance of men, more advanced stages of the disease, and a greater frequency of genetic alterations—e.g., del(17p)—together with a higher rate of disease progression and shorter time to therapy (TTT), independently of other prognostic factors. Our data suggest that the hydropathy index of the HCDR3 sequences of CLL cells allows the identification of a subgroup of M-CLL with intermediate prognostic features between U-CLL and the more favorable subgroup of M-CLL with a negatively charged BCR.


2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (7) ◽  
pp. 1563-1568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah J. Anderson ◽  
Richard Longnecker

Latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) provides developmental and survival signals that mimic those of a B-cell receptor (BCR). Expression of LMP2A during B-cell development results in the ability of B cells to exit the bone marrow in the absence of a BCR and persist in the periphery, where they would normally undergo apoptosis. This study extends the current knowledge of LMP2A function by examining the growth properties of bone marrow B cells from TgE LMP2A mice. Despite the lack of pre-BCR expression, bone marrow B cells from TgE LMP2A mice proliferate and survive in low concentrations of interleukin 7, similar to wild-type cells. Constitutive phosphorylation of ERK/MAPK and PI3K/Akt in TgE LMP2A bone marrow B cells is also reminiscent of signalling through the pre-BCR, altogether demonstrating that LMP2A provides a pre-BCR-like signal to developing B cells.


1997 ◽  
Vol 186 (8) ◽  
pp. 1299-1306 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Drake ◽  
Paul Webster ◽  
John C. Cambier ◽  
Ira Mellman

B cell receptor (BCR)-mediated antigen processing is a mechanism that allows class II–restricted presentation of specific antigen by B cells at relatively low antigen concentrations. Although BCR-mediated antigen processing and class II peptide loading may occur within one or more endocytic compartments, the functions of these compartments and their relationships to endosomes and lysosomes remain uncertain. In murine B cells, at least one population of class II– containing endocytic vesicles (i.e., CIIV) has been identified and demonstrated to be distinct both physically and functionally from endosomes and lysosomes. We now demonstrate the delivery of BCR-internalized antigen to CIIV within the time frame during which BCR-mediated antigen processing and formation of peptide–class II complexes occurs. Only a fraction of the BCR-internalized antigen was delivered to CIIV, with the majority of internalized antigen being delivered to lysosomes that are largely class II negative. The extensive colocalization of BCR-internalized antigen and newly synthesized class II molecules in CIIV suggests that CIIV may represent a specialized subcellular compartment for BCR-mediated antigen processing. Additionally, we have identified a putative CIIV-marker protein, immunologically related to the Igα subunit of the BCR, which further illustrates the unique nature of these endocytic vesicles.


Author(s):  
Sarah Wilmore ◽  
Karly-Rai Rogers-Broadway ◽  
Joe Taylor ◽  
Elizabeth Lemm ◽  
Rachel Fell ◽  
...  

AbstractSignaling via the B-cell receptor (BCR) is a key driver and therapeutic target in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). BCR stimulation of CLL cells induces expression of eIF4A, an initiation factor important for translation of multiple oncoproteins, and reduces expression of PDCD4, a natural inhibitor of eIF4A, suggesting that eIF4A may be a critical nexus controlling protein expression downstream of the BCR in these cells. We, therefore, investigated the effect of eIF4A inhibitors (eIF4Ai) on BCR-induced responses. We demonstrated that eIF4Ai (silvestrol and rocaglamide A) reduced anti-IgM-induced global mRNA translation in CLL cells and also inhibited accumulation of MYC and MCL1, key drivers of proliferation and survival, respectively, without effects on upstream signaling responses (ERK1/2 and AKT phosphorylation). Analysis of normal naïve and non-switched memory B cells, likely counterparts of the two main subsets of CLL, demonstrated that basal RNA translation was higher in memory B cells, but was similarly increased and susceptible to eIF4Ai-mediated inhibition in both. We probed the fate of MYC mRNA in eIF4Ai-treated CLL cells and found that eIF4Ai caused a profound accumulation of MYC mRNA in anti-IgM treated cells. This was mediated by MYC mRNA stabilization and was not observed for MCL1 mRNA. Following drug wash-out, MYC mRNA levels declined but without substantial MYC protein accumulation, indicating that stabilized MYC mRNA remained blocked from translation. In conclusion, BCR-induced regulation of eIF4A may be a critical signal-dependent nexus for therapeutic attack in CLL and other B-cell malignancies, especially those dependent on MYC and/or MCL1.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Yurong Pan ◽  
Qingqing Ma ◽  
Long Ma ◽  
Bin Shi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Colonization of gut microorganism is related to maturation of B cells in peripheral immune organs. This study aims to investigate the effect of intestinal microflora in Germ-free (GF), Specific Pathogen-free (SPF) and Clean (CL) BALB/C mice to small intestine total B-cell and memory B-cell receptor (BCR) complementary-determining region 3 (CDR3) repertoire. Results The composition and characteristics of intestinal microflora were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Genomic DNA extracted from small intestine tissue and memory B-cells of GF, SPF and CL mice were conducted via high-throughput DNA sequencing methods. As expected, significant differences of gut microflora diversity were observed in the three mice groups. CL group showed the most diversity, followed by SPF group, and GF group had the lowest diversity. Moreover, anormogenesis of intestinal lymphoid tissue were observed in GF mice. Diversity of the BCR heavy chain CDR3 repertoire in memory B cells were significant difference among three groups, but not in total B cells. The nucleotide polymorphism, usage frequency of gene segments (V, D, J, V–J gene segments) and amino acid of total B cells and memory B cells CDR3 were comparable among three mice groups, and there was significant difference between CL and GF mice groups. Conclusions The results of this study advocate that the colonization of intestinal microorganisms affect the diversity of B cells CDR3 repertoire. Elucidating mechanism of microbiome participated in the function of intestinal mucosal immune system may have positive effects on human health, and it requires further investigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Sun ◽  
Hu-Qin Yang ◽  
Kan Zhai ◽  
Zhao-Hui Tong

B cells play vital roles in host defense against Pneumocystis infection. However, the features of the B cell receptor (BCR) repertoire in disease progression remain unclear. Here, we integrated single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell BCR sequencing of immune cells from mouse lungs in an uninfected state and 1–4 weeks post-infection in order to illustrate the dynamic nature of B cell responses during Pneumocystis infection. We identified continuously increased plasma cells and an elevated ratio of (IgA + IgG) to (IgD + IgM) after infection. Moreover, Pneumocystis infection was associated with an increasing naïve B subset characterized by elevated expression of the transcription factor ATF3. The proportion of clonal expanded cells progressively increased, while BCR diversity decreased. Plasma cells exhibited higher levels of somatic hypermutation than naïve B cells. Biased usage of V(D)J genes was observed, and the usage frequency of IGHV9-3 rose. Overall, these results present a detailed atlas of B cell transcriptional changes and BCR repertoire features in the context of Pneumocystis infection, which provides valuable information for finding diagnostic biomarkers and developing potential immunotherapeutic targets.


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