| First Author | Kirstetter P | Year | 2002 |
| Journal | Eur J Immunol | Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 720-30 |
| PubMed ID | 11870616 | Mgi Jnum | J:82813 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2655669 | Doi | 10.1002/1521-4141(200203)32:3<720::AID-IMMU720>3.0.CO;2-P |
| Citation | Kirstetter P, et al. (2002) Ikaros is critical for B cell differentiation and function. Eur J Immunol 32(3):720-30 |
| abstractText | The Ikaros gene encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor required during early B cell development, as B-lineage cells are absent in mice lacking Ikaros. Here we describe a novel Ikaros-targeted mouse line carrying a beta-galactosidase reporter in which low amounts of Ikaros proteins remain expressed. In homozygote animals, B cells are absent during fetal development, but develop postnatally from a reduced pool of precursors. In vitro, the proliferation and differentiation of B-lineage progenitors are severely impaired. These defects are attenuated in vivo, but bone marrow B cells display an unusual pattern of cell surface marker expression and show decreased transcript levels for TdT, Rag-1, Rag-2 and lambda 5. These abnormalities suggest a partial block at the proB cell stage of differentiation. In the periphery, mature B cells exhibit a lower activation threshold but form fewer germinal centers in response to antigenic stimulation. Our results show that Ikaros controls multiple aspects of B cell differentiation and function. |
