scholarly journals Loss of Precursor B Cell Expansion but Not Allelic Exclusion in VpreB1/VpreB2 Double-Deficient Mice

2001 ◽  
Vol 193 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelia Mundt ◽  
Steve Licence ◽  
Takeyuki Shimizu ◽  
Fritz Melchers ◽  
Inga-Lill Mårtensson

The pre-B cell receptor consists of immunoglobulin (Ig) μ heavy chains and surrogate light chain, i.e., the VpreB and λ5 proteins. To analyze the role of the two VpreB proteins, mice lacking the VpreB1 and VpreB2 genes were generated. VpreB1−/−VpreB2−/− mice were impaired in their B cell development at the transition from pre-BI to large pre-BII cells. Pre-BII cells did not expand by proliferation, consequently 40-fold less small pre-BII and immature B cells were found in bone marrow, and the generation of immature and mature conventional B cells in spleen appeared reduced. In addition, only low numbers of B-1a cells were detected in the peritoneum. Surprisingly, Ig heavy chain allelic exclusion was still active, apparently ruling out a signaling role of a VpreB1/VpreB2–containing receptor in this process.

2003 ◽  
Vol 198 (11) ◽  
pp. 1699-1706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-wen Su ◽  
Alexandra Flemming ◽  
Thomas Wossning ◽  
Elias Hobeika ◽  
Michael Reth ◽  
...  

SLP-65−/− pre-B cells show a high proliferation rate in vitro. We have shown previously that λ5 expression and consequently a conventional pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR) are essential for this proliferation. Here, we show that pre-B cells express a novel receptor complex that contains a μ heavy chain (μHC) but lacks any surrogate (SL) or conventional light chain (LC). This SL-deficient pre-BCR (SL−pre-BCR) requires Ig-α for expression on the cell surface. Anti-μ treatment of pre-B cells expressing the SL−pre-BCR induces tyrosine phosphorylation of substrate proteins and a strong calcium (Ca2+) release. Further, the expression of the SL−pre-BCR is associated with a high differentiation rate toward κLC-positive cells. Given that B cell development is only partially blocked and allelic exclusion is unaffected in SL-deficient mice, we propose that the SL−pre-BCR is involved in these processes and therefore shares important functions with the conventional pre-BCR.


1998 ◽  
Vol 188 (7) ◽  
pp. 1231-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc W. Retter ◽  
David Nemazee

Allelic exclusion is established in development through a feedback mechanism in which the assembled immunoglobulin (Ig) suppresses further V(D)J rearrangement. But Ig expression sometimes fails to prevent further rearrangement. In autoantibody transgenic mice, reactivity of immature B cells with autoantigen can induce receptor editing, in which allelic exclusion is transiently prevented or reversed through nested light chain gene rearrangement, often resulting in altered B cell receptor specificity. To determine the extent of receptor editing in a normal, non-Ig transgenic immune system, we took advantage of the fact that λ light chain genes usually rearrange after κ genes. This allowed us to analyze κ loci in IgMλ+ cells to determine how frequently in-frame κ genes fail to suppress λ gene rearrangements. To do this, we analyzed recombined VκJκ genes inactivated by subsequent recombining sequence (RS) rearrangement. RS rearrangements delete portions of the κ locus by a V(D)J recombinase-dependent mechanism, suggesting that they play a role in receptor editing. We show that RS recombination is frequently induced by, and inactivates, functionally rearranged κ loci, as nearly half (47%) of the RS-inactivated VκJκ joins were in-frame. These findings suggest that receptor editing occurs at a surprisingly high frequency in normal B cells.


1996 ◽  
Vol 184 (6) ◽  
pp. 2079-2084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiaoching Gong ◽  
Mercedes Sanchez ◽  
Michel C. Nussenzweig

The pre-B cell receptor is a key checkpoint regulator in developing B cells. Early events that are controlled by the pre-B cell receptor include positive selection for cells express membrane immunoglobulin heavy chains and negative selection against cells expressing truncated immunoglobulins that lack a complete variable region (Dμ). Positive selection is known to be mediated by membrane immunoglobulin heavy chains through Igα-Igβ, whereas the mechanism for counterselection against Dμ has not been determined. We have examined the role of the Igα-Igβ signal transducers in counterselection against Dμ using mice that lack Igβ. We found that Dμ expression is not selected against in developing B cells in Igβ mutant mice. Thus, the molecular mechanism for counterselection against Dμ in pre-B cells resembles positive selection in that it requires interaction between mDμ and Igα-Igβ.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (7) ◽  
pp. 2391-2398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Vigorito ◽  
Laure Gambardella ◽  
Francesco Colucci ◽  
Simon McAdam ◽  
Martin Turner

AbstractMice lacking all 3 Vav proteins fail to produce significant numbers of recirculating follicular or marginal zone B cells. Those B cells that do mature have shortened lifespans. The constitutive nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) activity of resting naive B cells required Vav function and expression of cellular reticuloendotheliosis (c-Rel). Rel-A was reduced in Vav-deficient B cells. Furthermore, expression of the NF-κB-regulated antiapoptotic genes A1 and Bcl-2 was reduced in mature Vav-deficient B cells. Overexpression of Bcl-2 restored the number of mature follicular B cells in the spleens of Vav-deficient mice. When activated by B-cell receptor (BCR) cross-linking, Vav-deficient B cells failed to activate NF-κB. Vav proteins thus regulate an NF-κB-dependent survival signal in naive B cells and are required for NF-κB function after BCR cross-linking.


1988 ◽  
Vol 168 (4) ◽  
pp. 1363-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Manz ◽  
K Denis ◽  
O Witte ◽  
R Brinster ◽  
U Storb

Previous work (6-10) has shown that allelic exclusion of Ig gene expression is controlled by functionally rearranged mu and kappa genes. This report deals with the comparison of membrane mu (micron) and secreted mu (microsecond) in promoting such feedback inhibition. Splenic B cell hybridomas were analyzed from transgenic mice harboring a rearranged kappa gene alone or in combination with either an intact rearranged mu gene or a truncated version of the mu gene. The intact mu gene is capable of producing both membrane and secreted forms of the protein, while the truncated version can only encode the secreted form. The role of the microsecond was also tested in pre-B cell lines. Analysis of the extent of endogenous Ig gene rearrangement revealed that (a) the production of micron together with kappa can terminate Ig gene rearrangement; (b) microsecond with kappa does not have this feedback effect; (c) microsecond may interfere with the effect of micron and kappa; and (d) the feedback shown here probably represents a complete shutoff of the specific recombinase by micron + kappa; the data do not address the question of mu alone affecting the accessibility of H genes for rearrangement.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 3920-3920
Author(s):  
Sachiko Seo ◽  
Takashi Asai ◽  
Toshiki Saito ◽  
Takahiro Suzuki ◽  
Motoshi Ichikawa ◽  
...  

Abstract Cas-L (Crk-associated substrate lymphocyte type) which is also known as Hef1 (human enhancer of filamentation 1) was first identified as a protein tyrosine-phosphorylated upon stimulation of b1 integrin. Cas-L possesses a single Src homology (SH) 3 domain and multiple YXXP motifs (substrate domain) as a member of Cas protein family, and is well expressed in peripheral lymphocytes. Previous studies suggest that Cas-L might be involved in Bcr-Abl positive leukemia and adult T cell leukemia. However, the biological function of Cas-L in lymphocytes is little known. We generated Cas-L-deficient mice using a gene targeting strategy. The mice showed a deficit of marginal zone (MZ) B cells and a decrease of cell number in secondary lymphoid organs. To elucidate the mechanism of the MZ B cell defect, the reciprocal bone marrow transfer assays were performed. The results revealed that the defect of MZ B cells in Cas-L-deficient mice is cell autonomous. Next, we analyzed B cell receptor signaling by measurement of intracellular Ca2+ concentration and lymphocyte proliferation. However, we could not find any significant differences between wild type and Cas-L-deficient mice. Cas-L-deficient lymphocytes showed reduced chemotactic response to CXCL12 and CXCL13. The adhesion assay also showed the decreased adhesiveness to VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, which are important for retention of MZ B cells in spleen. Moreover, we found that the lymphocyte trafficking to spleen and lymph nodes was altered in Cas-L-deficient mice. Thus, Cas-L affects homeostasis of MZ B cells and peripheral lymphoid organs, which is considered to be relevant to impaired lymphocyte migration and adhesion.


Blood ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 116 (21) ◽  
pp. 375-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatima Talab ◽  
Victoria Thompson ◽  
John C Allen ◽  
Ke Lin ◽  
Joseph R Slupsky

Abstract Abstract 375 B cell receptor (BCR) signaling promotes survival of the malignant clone in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) through its ability to stimulate NFkB pathway signaling. In lymphoid cells, antigen receptor stimulation of this pathway is achieved by engaging the Carma-1 – Bcl10 – MALT1 (CBM) complex for eventual activation of I-kB kinases (IKKs). In B cells, protein kinase C beta (PKCbeta) is an important mediator of CBM complex activation. However, in CLL cells we found that PKCs do not appear to have a role in BCR-mediated NFkB pathway signaling, despite high expression levels of PKCbeta, because the presence of specific inhibitors of this kinase (LY379196 and bisindolylmaleimide-I) has no effect on the induction of IKK phosphorylation during BCR crosslinking. Examination of CBM complex expression suggests an explanation for this phenomenon; the expression levels of Carma-1 and MALT-1 are largely similar in CLL and normal B cells, but the expression of Bcl10 is much reduced in CLL cells. These findings, taken together with the established role of Bcl10 in the pathway of BCR-induced NFkB activation, suggest that CLL cells may employ a different mechanism to activate this pathway during BCR stimulation. Tyrosine kinases are known to play a role in BCR-induced IKK activation in CLL cells because compounds like dasatinib and PP2 inhibit NFkB pathway activation by BCR. One possible tyrosine kinase is c-Abl because we have shown this protein to be overexpressed in CLL cells, where it plays a role in activation of the NFkB pathway. To investigate the role of c-Abl in BCR-induced IKK activation, we used the inhibitor imatinib and found that the presence of this compound partially inhibited IKK phosphorylation in BCR-stimulated CLL cells. However, imatinib can also inhibit Lck, a T cell-specific src-family tyrosine kinase that is expressed by CLL cells. To differentiate between Lck- and c-Abl-mediated BCR signals we used the specific inhibitor 4-amino-5-(4-phenoxyphenyl)-7H-pyrrolo[3,2d] pyrimidin-7-yl-cyclopentane (Lck-i). We found that the presence of this compound in CLL cell cultures undergoing BCR stimulation almost completely inhibited the induction of IKK activation. Investigation of Lck-i specificity revealed this compound did not inhibit either c-Abl or Lyn at the concentration used to inhibit Lck in CLL cell cultures. Further investigation of the effects of Lck-i showed that this compound was also effective in inhibiting BCR-induced activation of the Akt and ERK signaling pathways. Taken together, these data suggest a major role for Lck in BCR-mediated signaling in CLL cells, and question the existing paradigm on the importance of Lyn. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (5) ◽  
pp. C1013-C1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joo Hyun Nam ◽  
Dong Hoon Shin ◽  
Haifeng Zheng ◽  
Dong-Sup Lee ◽  
Su Jung Park ◽  
...  

Stimulation of B cell receptors (BCR ligation) induces apoptosis of immature B cells, which is critical to the elimination of self-reactive clones. In the mouse immature B cell line WEHI-231, the authors previously reported two types of background K+ channels with large (∼300 pS, LKbg) and medium (∼100 pS, MKbg) conductance in divalent cation-free conditions. While the authors have recently identified LKbg as TREK-2, the molecular nature of MKbg is unknown yet. In the present study, the authors found that BCR ligation markedly increased the background K+ conductance of WEHI-231. A single-channel study revealed that MKbg activity is increased by BCR ligation and that the biophysical properties (unitary conductance and pH sensitivity) of MKbg are consistent with those of TWIK-related acid-sensitive K+ channel 2 (TASK-2). The expression of TASK-2 and its upregulation by BCR ligation were confirmed by RT-PCR and immunoblot assays in WEHI-231. The BCR ligation-induced increase of K+ current was prevented by calcineurin inhibitors (cyclosporine A or FK506), and also by TASK-2-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection (si-TASK-2). Furthermore, si-TASK-2 attenuated the apoptosis of WEHI-231 caused by BCR ligation. TASK-2 activity and its mRNA were also confirmed in the primary splenic B cells of mouse. Summarizing, the authors report for the first time the expression of TASK-2 in B cells and surmise that the upregulation of TASK-2 by BCR ligation is associated with the apoptosis of immature B cells.


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