| First Author | Al-Shami A | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 191 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 3789-98 |
| PubMed ID | 23997217 | Mgi Jnum | J:205951 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5547463 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.1203534 |
| Citation | Al-Shami A, et al. (2013) Integrin-alpha FG-GAP repeat-containing protein 2 is critical for normal B cell differentiation and controls disease development in a lupus model. J Immunol 191(7):3789-98 |
| abstractText | The phenylalanyl-glycyl-glycyl-alanyl-prolyl (FG-GAP) domain plays an important role in protein-protein interactions, including interaction of integrins with their ligands. Integrin-alpha FG-GAP repeat-containing protein 2 (Itfg2) is a highly conserved protein in vertebrates that carries two FG-GAP domains, but its role in mammalian physiology is unknown. In this article, we show that Itfg2 is an intracellular protein and it plays a critical role in B cell differentiation and development of autoimmunity. Itfg2-deficient mice displayed a phenotype consistent with retention of B cells in the spleen and had a lower concentration of IgG in the blood when compared with wild-type littermates. Itfg2-deficient splenocytes also showed a defect in cell migration in vitro. After immunization with a thymus-dependent Ag, the absence of Itfg2 caused a shift in B cell maturation from the germinal centers to the extrafollicular regions of the spleen and blocked deposition of Ag-specific plasma cells in the bone marrow. In support of hematopoietic cell intrinsic activity of Itfg2, bone marrow transplantation of Itfg2-deficient cells was sufficient to impair germinal center development in wild-type mice. Furthermore, Itfg2 deficiency exacerbated development of autoimmune disease in MRL/lpr lupus-prone mice. These results identify Itfg2 as a novel contributor to B cell differentiation and a negative regulator of the autoimmune response during lupus. |
