| First Author | Orinska Z | Year | 2002 |
| Journal | Eur J Immunol | Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 12 | Pages | 3472-80 |
| PubMed ID | 12442329 | Mgi Jnum | J:80854 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2447285 | Doi | 10.1002/1521-4141(200212)32:12<3472::AID-IMMU3472>3.0.CO;2-F |
| Citation | Orinska Z, et al. (2002) Novel B cell population producing functional IgG in the absence of membrane IgM expression. Eur J Immunol 32(12):3472-80 |
| abstractText | Surface expression of IgM is a characteristic feature of the development of most B cells. Only pre-B cells bearing functional IgM heavy chains mu chains) are selected for clonal expansion and differentiation. Cells lacking mu chains are normally eliminated. muMT mice carrying a deletion of the first exon coding for the transmembrane domain of the immunoglobulin mu chain gene were described as mice deficient for mature B cells, plasma cells and immunoglobulins in serum. In this study, we describe in muMT/BALB/c mice the presence of a novel B cell population, producing IgG, IgA and IgE in the absence of IgM membrane expression. Moreover, this small population of B cells is able to recognize antigens and to differentiate into plasma cells. These 'non-conventional' mu(- / -) B cells produce functional immunoglobulins after immunization, undergo germinal center reactions, and maintain B cell memory. Our findings support the concept, that a small percentage of mu -non-expressing pre-B cells can escape elimination, switch to downstream immunoglobulin heavy chains and respond to antigens. It remains an open question how the reactivity of these B cells is regulated and in which extent such B cells play a role in physiological and pathological processes such as autoantibody production and autoimmunity. |
