First Author | Thévenin C | Year | 1998 |
Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 188 |
Issue | 4 | Pages | 735-44 |
PubMed ID | 9705955 | Mgi Jnum | J:110957 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3652450 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.188.4.735 |
Citation | Thevenin C, et al. (1998) Early function of Pax5 (BSAP) before the pre-B cell receptor stage of B lymphopoiesis. J Exp Med 188(4):735-44 |
abstractText | The formation of the pre-B cell receptor (BCR) corresponds to an important checkpoint in B cell development that selects pro-B (pre-BI) cells expressing a functionally rearranged immunoglobulin mu (Igmu) heavy chain protein to undergo the transition to the pre-B (pre-BII) cell stage. The pre-BCR contains, in addition to Igmu, the surrogate light chains lambda5 and VpreB and the signal transducing proteins Igalpha and Igbeta. The absence of one of these pre-BCR components is known to arrest B cell development at the pre-BI cell stage. Disruption of the Pax5 gene, which codes for the B cell-specific activator protein (BSAP), also blocks adult B lymphopoiesis at the pre-BI cell stage. Moreover, expression of the mb-1 (Igalpha) gene and VH-to-DHJH recombination at the IgH locus are reduced in Pax5-deficient B lymphocytes approximately 10- and approximately 50-fold, respectively. Here we demonstrate that complementation of these deficiencies in pre-BCR components by expression of functionally rearranged Ig mu and chimeric Igmu-Igbeta transgenes fails to advance B cell development to the pre-BII cell stage in Pax5 (-/-) mice in contrast to RAG2 (-/-) mice. Furthermore, the pre-BCR is stably expressed on cultured pre-BI cells from Igmu transgenic, Pax5-deficient bone marrow, but is unable to elicit its normal signaling responses. In addition, the early developmental block is unlikely to be caused by the absence of a survival signal, as it could not be rescued by expression of a bcl2 transgene in Pax5-deficient pre-BI cells. Together, these data demonstrate that the absence of Pax5 arrests adult B lymphopoiesis at an early developmental stage that is unresponsive to pre-BCR signaling. |