scholarly journals Malaria-associated atypical memory B cells exhibit markedly reduced B cell receptor signaling and effector function

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Portugal ◽  
Christopher M Tipton ◽  
Haewon Sohn ◽  
Younoussou Kone ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
...  

Protective antibodies in Plasmodium falciparum malaria are only acquired after years of repeated infections. Chronic malaria exposure is associated with a large increase in atypical memory B cells (MBCs) that resemble B cells expanded in a variety of persistent viral infections. Understanding the function of atypical MBCs and their relationship to classical MBCs will be critical to developing effective vaccines for malaria and other chronic infections. We show that VH gene repertoires and somatic hypermutation rates of atypical and classical MBCs are indistinguishable indicating a common developmental history. Atypical MBCs express an array of inhibitory receptors and B cell receptor (BCR) signaling is stunted in atypical MBCs resulting in impaired B cell responses including proliferation, cytokine production and antibody secretion. Thus, in response to chronic malaria exposure, atypical MBCs appear to differentiate from classical MBCs becoming refractory to BCR-mediated activation and potentially interfering with the acquisition of malaria immunity.

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.


1998 ◽  
Vol 187 (5) ◽  
pp. 753-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad C. Bleul ◽  
Joachim L. Schultze ◽  
Timothy A. Springer

Migration of mature B lymphocytes within secondary lymphoid organs and recirculation between these sites are thought to allow B cells to obtain T cell help, to undergo somatic hypermutation, to differentiate into effector cells, and to home to sites of antibody production. The mechanisms that direct migration of B lymphocytes are unknown, but there is evidence that G protein–coupled receptors, and possibly chemokine receptors, may be involved. Stromal cell– derived factor (SDF)-1α is a CXC chemokine previously characterized as an efficacious chemoattractant for T lymphocytes and monocytes in peripheral blood. Here we show with purified tonsillar B cells that SDF-1α also attracts naive and memory, but not germinal center (GC) B lymphocytes. Furthermore, GC B cells could be converted to respond to SDF-1α by in vitro differentiation into memory B lymphocytes. Conversely, the migratory response in naive and memory B cells was significantly reduced after B cell receptor engagement and CD40 signaling. The receptor for SDF-1, CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), was found to be expressed on responsive as well as unresponsive B cell subsets, but was more rapidly downregulated on responsive cells by ligand. Finally, messenger RNA for SDF-1 was detected by in situ hybridization in a layer of cells surrounding the GC. These findings show that responsiveness to the chemoattractant SDF-1α is regulated during B lymphocyte activation, and correlates with positioning of B lymphocytes within a secondary lymphoid organ.


2002 ◽  
Vol 196 (10) ◽  
pp. 1291-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Feldhahn ◽  
Ines Schwering ◽  
Sanggyu Lee ◽  
Maria Wartenberg ◽  
Florian Klein ◽  
...  

To identify changes in the regulation of B cell receptor (BCR) signals during the development of human B cells, we generated genome-wide gene expression profiles using the serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) technique for CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), pre-B cells, naive, germinal center (GC), and memory B cells. Comparing these SAGE profiles, genes encoding positive regulators of BCR signaling were expressed at consistently lower levels in naive B cells than in all other B cell subsets. Conversely, a large group of inhibitory signaling molecules, mostly belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF), were specifically or predominantly expressed in naive B cells. The quantitative differences observed by SAGE were corroborated by semiquantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry. In a functional assay, we show that down-regulation of inhibitory IgSF receptors and increased responsiveness to BCR stimulation in memory as compared with naive B cells at least partly results from interleukin (IL)-4 receptor signaling. Conversely, activation or impairment of the inhibitory IgSF receptor LIRB1 affected BCR-dependent Ca2+ mobilization only in naive but not memory B cells. Thus, LIRB1 and IL-4 may represent components of two nonoverlapping gene expression programs in naive and memory B cells, respectively: in naive B cells, a large group of inhibitory IgSF receptors can elevate the BCR signaling threshold to prevent these cells from premature activation and clonal expansion before GC-dependent affinity maturation. In memory B cells, facilitated responsiveness upon reencounter of the immunizing antigen may result from amplification of BCR signals at virtually all levels of signal transduction.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document