scholarly journals Plasma cell output from germinal centers is regulated by signals from Tfh and stromal cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 215 (4) ◽  
pp. 1227-1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Laura Tech ◽  
Laura A. George ◽  
Andreas Acs ◽  
Russell E. Durrett ◽  
...  

Germinal centers (GCs) are the sites where B cells undergo affinity maturation. The regulation of cellular output from the GC is not well understood. Here, we show that from the earliest stages of the GC response, plasmablasts emerge at the GC–T zone interface (GTI). We define two main factors that regulate this process: Tfh-derived IL-21, which supports production of plasmablasts from the GC, and TNFSF13 (APRIL), which is produced by a population of podoplanin+ CD157high fibroblastic reticular cells located in the GTI that are also rich in message for IL-6 and chemokines CXCL12, CCL19, and CCL21. Plasmablasts in the GTI express the APRIL receptor TNFRSF13B (TACI), and blocking TACI interactions specifically reduces the numbers of plasmablasts appearing in the GTI. Plasma cells generated in the GTI may provide an early source of affinity-matured antibodies that may neutralize pathogens or provide feedback regulating GC B cell selection.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rinako Nakagawa ◽  
Dinis Pedro Calado

Germinal centers (GCs) are essential sites for the production of high-affinity antibody secreting plasma cells (PCs) and memory-B cells (MBCs), which form the framework of vaccination. Affinity maturation and permissive selection in GCs are key for the production of PCs and MBCs, respectively. For these purposes, GCs positively select “fit” cells in the light zone of the GC and instructs them for one of three known B cell fates: PCs, MBCs and persistent GC-B cells as dark zone entrants. In this review, we provide an overview of the positive selection process and discuss its mechanisms and how B cell fates are instructed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 207 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Linterman ◽  
Laura Beaton ◽  
Di Yu ◽  
Roybel R. Ramiscal ◽  
Monika Srivastava ◽  
...  

During T cell–dependent responses, B cells can either differentiate extrafollicularly into short-lived plasma cells or enter follicles to form germinal centers (GCs). Interactions with T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are required for GC formation and for selection of somatically mutated GC B cells. Interleukin (IL)-21 has been reported to play a role in Tfh cell formation and in B cell growth, survival, and isotype switching. To date, it is unclear whether the effect of IL-21 on GC formation is predominantly a consequence of this cytokine acting directly on the Tfh cells or if IL-21 directly influences GC B cells. We show that IL-21 acts in a B cell–intrinsic fashion to control GC B cell formation. Mixed bone marrow chimeras identified a significant B cell–autonomous effect of IL-21 receptor (R) signaling throughout all stages of the GC response. IL-21 deficiency profoundly impaired affinity maturation and reduced the proportion of IgG1+ GC B cells but did not affect formation of early memory B cells. IL-21R was required on GC B cells for maximal expression of Bcl-6. In contrast to the requirement for IL-21 in the follicular response to sheep red blood cells, a purely extrafollicular antibody response to Salmonella dominated by IgG2a was intact in the absence of IL-21.


Blood ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 87 (8) ◽  
pp. 3375-3383 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Tsujimoto ◽  
IA Lisukov ◽  
N Huang ◽  
MS Mahmoud ◽  
MM Kawano

By using two-color phenotypic analysis with fluorescein isothiocyanate- anti-CD38 and phycoerythrin-anti-CD19 antibodies, we found that pre-B cells (CD38+CD19+) signifcantly decreased depending on the number of plasma cells (CD38++CD19+) in the bone marrow (BM) in the cases with BM plasmacytosis, such as myelomas and even polyclonal gammopathy. To clarify how plasma cells suppress survival of pre-B cells, we examined the effect of plasma cells on the survival of pre-B cells with or without BM-derived stromal cells in vitro. Pre-B cells alone rapidly entered apoptosis, but interleukin-7 (IL-7), a BM stromal cell line (KM- 102), or culture supernatants of KM-102 cells could support pre-B cell survival. On the other hand, inhibitory factors such as transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and macrophage inflammatory protein- 1beta (MIP-1beta) could suppress survival of pre-B cells even in the presence of IL-7. Plasma cells alone could not suppress survival of pre- B cells in the presence of IL-7, but coculture of plasma cells with KM- 102 cells or primary BM stromal cells induced apoptosis of pre-B cells. Supernatants of coculture with KM-102 and myeloma cell lines (KMS-5) also could suppress survival of pre-B cells. Furthermore, we examined the expression of IL-7, TGF-beta1, and MIP-1beta mRNA in KM-102 cells and primary stromal cells cocultured with myeloma cell lines (KMS-5). In these cells, IL-7 mRNA was downregulated, but the expression of TGF- beta1 and MIP-1beta mRNA was augmented. Therefore, these results suggest that BM-derived stromal cells attached to plasma (myeloma) cells were modulated to secrete lesser levels of supporting factor (IL- 7) and higher levels of inhibitory factors (TGF-beta1 and MIP-1beta) for pre-B cell survival, which could explain why the increased number of plasma (myeloma) cells induced suppression of pre-B cells in the BM. This phenomenon may represent a feedback loop between pre-B cells and plasma cells via BM stromal cells in the BM.


2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 1598-1605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Luijkx ◽  
Jacqueline A. M. van Gaans-van den Brink ◽  
Harry H. van Dijken ◽  
Germie P. J. M. van den Dobbelsteen ◽  
Cécile A. C. M. van Els

ABSTRACT Highly homologous meningococcal porin A (PorA) proteins induce protective humoral immunity against Neisseria meningitidis group B infection but with large and consistent differences in the levels of serum bactericidal activity achieved. We investigated whether a poor PorA-specific serological outcome is associated with a limited size of the specific B-cell subpopulation involved. The numbers of PorA-specific splenic plasma cells, bone marrow (BM) plasma cells, and splenic memory B cells were compared between mice that received priming and boosting with the weakly immunogenic PorA (P1.7-2,4) protein and those that received priming and boosting with the highly immunogenic PorA (P1.5-1,2-2) protein. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers (except at day 42), bactericidal activity, and the avidity of IgG produced against P1.7-2,4 were significantly lower at all time points after priming and boosting than against P1.5-1,2-2. These differences, however, were not associated with a lack of P1.7-2,4-specific plasma cells. Instead, priming with both of the PorAs resulted in the initial expansion of comparable numbers of splenic and BM plasma cells. Moreover, P1.7-2,4-specific BM plasma cells, but not P1.5-1,2-2-specific plasma cells, expanded significantly further after boosting. Likewise, after a relative delay during the priming phase, the splenic P1.7-2,4-specific memory B cells largely outnumbered those specific for P1.5-1,2-2, upon boosting. These trends were observed with different vaccine formulations of the porins. Our results show for the first time that B-cell subpopulations involved in a successfully maturated antibody response against a clinically relevant vaccine antigen are maintained at smaller population sizes than those associated with poor affinity maturation. This bears consequences for the interpretation of immunological memory data in clinical vaccine trials.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artem I. Mikelov ◽  
Evgeniia I. Alekseeva ◽  
Ekaterina A. Komech ◽  
Dmitriy B. Staroverov ◽  
Maria A. Turchaninova ◽  
...  

B-cell mediated immune memory holds both plasticity and conservatism to respond to new challenges and repeated infections. Here, we analyze the dynamics of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) repertoires of memory B cells, plasmablasts and plasma cells sampled several times during one year from peripheral blood of volunteers without severe inflammatory diseases. We reveal a high degree of clonal persistence in individual memory B-cell subsets with inter-individual convergence in memory and antibody-secreting cells (ASCs). Clonotypes in ASCs demonstrate clonal relatedness to memory B cells and are transient in peripheral blood. Two clusters of expanded clonal lineages displayed different prevalence of memory B cells, isotypes, and persistence. Phylogenetic analysis revealed signs of reactivation of persisting memory B cell-enriched clonal lineages, accompanied by new rounds of affinity maturation during proliferation to ASCs. Negative selection contributes to both, persisting and reactivated lineages, saving functionality and specificity of BCRs to protect from the current and future pathogens.


Author(s):  
Akiko Sugimoto-Ishige ◽  
Michishige Harada ◽  
Miho Tanaka ◽  
Tommy Terooatea ◽  
Yu Adachi ◽  
...  

Abstract In T cell-dependent antibody responses, some of the activated B cells differentiate along extrafollicular pathways into low-affinity memory and plasma cells, whereas others are involved in subsequent germinal center (GC) formation in follicular pathways, in which somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation occur. The present study demonstrated that Bim, a proapoptotic BH3-only member of the Bcl-2 family, contributes to the establishment of the B-cell repertoire from early to late stages of immune responses to T cell-dependent antigens. Extrafollicular plasma cells grew in the spleen during the early immune response, but their numbers rapidly declined with the appearance of GC-derived progeny in wild-type mice. By contrast, conditional Bim deficiency in B cells resulted in expansion of extrafollicular IgG1+ antibody-forming cells (AFCs) and this expansion was sustained during the late response, which hampered the formation of GC-derived high-affinity plasma cells in the spleen. Approximately 10% of AFCs in mutant mice contained mutated VH genes; thus, Bim deficiency appears not to impede the selection of high-affinity AFC precursor cells. These results suggest that Bim contributes to the replacement of low-affinity antibody by high-affinity antibody as the immune response progresses.


Blood ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 1421-1427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Le Morvan ◽  
Eric Pinaud ◽  
Catherine Decourt ◽  
Armelle Cuvillier ◽  
Michel Cogné

Abstract The more distal enhancers of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain 3′ regulatory region, hs3b and hs4, were recently demonstrated as master control elements of germline transcription and class switch recombination to most immunoglobulin constant genes. In addition, they were shown to enhance the accumulation of somatic mutations on linked transgenes. Since somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination are tightly linked processes, their common dependency on the endogenous locus 3′ enhancers could be an attractive hypothesis. VDJ structure and somatic hypermutation were analyzed in B cells from mice carrying either a heterozygous or a homozygous deletion of these enhancers. We find that hs3b and hs4 are dispensable both for VDJ assembly and for the occurrence of mutations at a physiologic frequency in the endogenous locus. In addition, we show that cells functionally expressing the immunoglobulin M (IgM) class B-cell receptor encoded by an hs3b/hs4-deficient locus were fully able to enter germinal centers, undergo affinity maturation, and yield specific antibody responses in homozygous mutant mice, where IgG1 antibodies compensated for the defect in other IgG isotypes. By contrast, analysis of Peyer patches from heterozygous animals showed that peanut agglutinin (PNAhigh) B cells functionally expressing the hs3b/hs4-deficient allele were dramatically outclassed by B cells expressing the wild-type locus and normally switching to IgA. This study thus also highlights the role of germinal centers in the competition between B cells for affinity maturation and suggests that membrane IgA may promote recruitment in an activated B-cell compartment, or proliferation of activated B cells, more efficiently than IgM in Peyer patches.


2000 ◽  
Vol 191 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola García de Vinuesa ◽  
Matthew C. Cook ◽  
Jennifer Ball ◽  
Marion Drew ◽  
Yvonne Sunners ◽  
...  

Germinal centers are critical for affinity maturation of antibody (Ab) responses. This process allows the production of high-efficiency neutralizing Ab that protects against virus infection and bacterial exotoxins. In germinal centers, responding B cells selectively mutate the genes that encode their receptors for antigen. This process can change Ab affinity and specificity. The mutated cells that produce high-affinity Ab are selected to become Ab-forming or memory B cells, whereas cells that have lost affinity or acquired autoreactivity are eliminated. Normally, T cells are critical for germinal center formation and subsequent B cell selection. Both processes involve engagement of CD40 on B cells by T cells. This report describes how high-affinity B cells can be induced to form large germinal centers in response to (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl) acetyl (NP)-Ficoll in the absence of T cells or signaling through CD40 or CD28. This requires extensive cross-linking of the B cell receptors, and a frequency of antigen-specific B cells of at least 1 in 1,000. These germinal centers abort dramatically at the time when mutated high-affinity B cells are normally selected by T cells. Thus, there is a fail-safe mechanism against autoreactivity, even in the event of thymus-independent germinal center formation.


Metabolites ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Ashton K. Shiraz ◽  
Eric J. Panther ◽  
Christopher M. Reilly

B lymphocytes play an important role in the pathophysiology of many autoimmune disorders by producing autoantibodies, secreting cytokines, and presenting antigens. B cells undergo extreme physiological changes as they develop and differentiate. Aberrant function in tolerogenic checkpoints and the metabolic state of B cells might be the contributing factors to the dysfunctionality of autoimmune B cells. Understanding B-cell metabolism in autoimmunity is important as it can give rise to new treatments. Recent investigations have revealed that alterations in metabolism occur in the activation of B cells. Several reports have suggested that germinal center (GC) B cells of individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have altered metabolic function. GCs are unique microenvironments in which the delicate and complex process of B-cell affinity maturation occurs through somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switching recombination (CSR) and where Bcl6 tightly regulates B-cell differentiation into memory B-cells or plasma cells. GC B cells rely heavily on glucose, fatty acids, and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) for their energy requirements. However, the complicated association between GC B cells and their metabolism is still not clearly understood. Here, we review several studies of B-cell metabolism, highlighting the significant transformations that occur in GC progression, and suggest possible approaches that may be investigated to more precisely target aberrant B-cell metabolism in SLE.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy F. Brooks ◽  
Peter R. Murphy ◽  
James E.M. Barber ◽  
James W. Wells ◽  
Raymond J. Steptoe

AbstractA series of layered peripheral checkpoints maintain self-reactive B cells in an unresponsive state. Autoantibody production occurs when these checkpoints are breached, however, when and how this occurs is largely unknown. In particular, how self-reactive B cells are restrained during bystander inflammation in otherwise healthy individuals is poorly understood. A weakness has been the unavailability of methods capable of dissecting physiologically-relevant B-cell responses, without the use of an engineered B-cell receptor. Resolving this will provide insights that decipher how this process goes awry during autoimmunity or could be exploited for therapy. Here we use a strong adjuvant to provide bystander innate and adaptive signals that promote B-cell responsiveness, in conjunction with newly developed B cell detection tools to study in detail the ways that peripheral tolerance mechanisms limit the expansion and function of self-reactive B cells activated under these conditions. We show that although autoreactive B cells are recruited into the germinal centre, their development does not proceed, possibly through rapid counter-selection. Consequently, differentiation of plasma cells is blunted, and autoantibody responses are transient and devoid of affinity maturation. We propose this approach and these tools can be more widely applied to track antigen-specific B cell responses to more disease relevant antigens, without the need for BCR transgenic mice, in settings where tolerance pathways are compromised or have been genetically manipulated to drive stronger insights into the biology underlying B cell-mediated autoimmunity.


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