First Author | Polli M | Year | 2005 |
Journal | Blood | Volume | 106 |
Issue | 6 | Pages | 2083-90 |
PubMed ID | 15933053 | Mgi Jnum | J:118870 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3700589 | Doi | 10.1182/blood-2005-01-0283 |
Citation | Polli M, et al. (2005) The development of functional B lymphocytes in conditional PU.1 knock-out mice. Blood 106(6):2083-90 |
abstractText | An abundance of research has entrenched the view that the Ets domain containing transcription factor PU.1 is fundamental to the development and function of B lymphocytes. In this study, we have made use of a conditional PU.1 allele to test this notion. Complete deletion of PU.1 resulted in the loss of B cells and all other lineage-positive cells in the fetal liver and death between E18.5 and birth; however, specific deletion of PU.1 in the B lineage had no effect on B-cell development. Furthermore, deletion of PU.1 in B cells did not compromise their ability to establish and maintain an immune response. An increased level of apoptosis was observed in vitro upon B-cell receptor (BCR) cross-linking; however, this was partially rescued by interleukin-4 (IL-4). These findings suggest that PU.1 is not essential for the development of functional B lymphocytes beyond the pre-B stage. |