| First Author | Merrell KT | Year | 2006 |
| Journal | Immunity | Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 953-62 |
| PubMed ID | 17174121 | Mgi Jnum | J:116779 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3695013 | Doi | 10.1016/j.immuni.2006.10.017 |
| Citation | Merrell KT, et al. (2006) Identification of anergic B cells within a wild-type repertoire. Immunity 25(6):953-62 |
| abstractText | The contribution of anergy to silencing of autoreactive B cells in physiologic settings is unknown. By comparing anergic and nonanergic immunoglobulin-transgenic mouse strains, we defined a set of surface markers that were used for presumptive identification of an anergic B cell cohort within a normal repertoire. Like anergic transgenic B cells, these physiologic anergic cells exhibited high basal intracellular free calcium and did not mobilize calcium, initiate tyrosine phosphorylation, proliferate, upregulate activation markers, or mount an immune response upon antigen-receptor stimulation. Autoreactive B cells were overrepresented in this cohort. On the basis of the frequency and lifespan of these cells, it appears that as many as 50% of newly produced B cells are destined to become anergic. In conclusion, our findings indicate that anergy is probably the primary mechanism by which autoreactive B cells are silenced. Thus maintenance of the unresponsiveness of anergic cells is critical for prevention of autoimmunity. |
