| First Author | Wang W | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 184 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 3590-7 |
| PubMed ID | 20208012 | Mgi Jnum | J:160061 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4453378 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.0901278 |
| Citation | Wang W, et al. (2010) Hemokinin-1 activates the MAPK pathway and enhances B cell proliferation and antibody production. J Immunol 184(7):3590-7 |
| abstractText | Hemokinin 1 (HK-1) is a substance P-like tachykinin peptide predominantly expressed in non-neuronal tissues. In addition to a prominent function in lymphoid development, recent studies indicate a potential role for HK-1 in immunoregulation. The current study was focused on its action on mature B cells. Despite the negligible effect on its own, HK-1 exhibited a profound influence on B cell activation elicited by several classical signals, including LPS stimulation, BCR cross-linking, and CD40 ligation. Cells therefore showed enhanced proliferation, survival, and CD80/86 expression, and produced more IgM with a higher frequency of Ab-forming cells. Biochemical analysis revealed that HK-1 alone was sufficient to induce the activation of MAPKs and the expression of Blimp-1 and Xbp-1 in B cells. Nevertheless, costimulation with a known B cell activator resulted in much enhanced phosphorylation of MAPKs and transcriptional activation of Blimp-1 and Xbp-1. Overall, these data support that HK-1 provides an important costimulatory signal for B cell activation, possibly through synergistic activation of the MAPK pathway and induction of transcription factors critical for plasmacytic differentiation. |
