| First Author | Shimomura Y | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 205 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 1343-55 |
| PubMed ID | 18519649 | Mgi Jnum | J:137039 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3797677 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20071572 |
| Citation | Shimomura Y, et al. (2008) A unique B2 B cell subset in the intestine. J Exp Med 205(6):1343-55 |
| abstractText | Over 80% of the body's activated B cells are located in mucosal sites, including the intestine. The intestine contains IgM(+) B cells, but these cells have not been characterized phenotypically or in terms of their developmental origins. We describe a previously unidentified and unique subset of immunoglobulin M(+) B cells that present with an AA4.1(-)CD21(-)CD23(-) major histocompatibility complex class II(bright) surface phenotype and are characterized by a low frequency of somatic hypermutation and the potential ability to produce interleukin-12p70. This B cell subset resides within the normal mucosa of the large intestine and expands in response to inflammation. Some of these intestinal B cells originate from the AA4.1(+) immature B2 cell pool in the steady state and are also recruited from the recirculating naive B cell pool in the context of intestinal inflammation. They develop in an antigen-independent and BAFF-dependent manner in the absence of T cell help. Expansion of these cells can be induced in the absence of the spleen and gut-associated lymphoid tissues. These results describe the existence of an alternative pathway of B cell maturation in the periphery that gives rise to a tissue-specific B cell subset. |
