The role of the B cell receptor V region in peripheral B cell survival.

Maria Manuela Rosado (1) , Antonio A. Freitas (1)

1 Dynamiques Lymphocytaires

We investigate the role of the antigen-specific B cell receptor (BCR) in the establishment and maintenance of the peripheral B cell pools. We studied the fate of a population of transgenic B cells expressing a BCR without V region (Tg(deltaVmu)). We found that the Tg(deltaVmu) B cells can populate the peripheral B cell pools in the absence of other B cells, but when in the presence of a second population of non-transgenic B cells, they are virtually absent from the mature B cell compartments. By studying the rate of accumulation of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine we show that the peripheral Tg(deltaVmu) B cells have a shorter life-span compared to non-transgenic B cells. By directly comparing the fate of two populations of transgenic B cells, either lacking or expressing a V region, we were able to assign the poorest competitive ability and the short peripheral survival of the Tg(delatVmu) B cells to the lack of an antigen-binding site. The results obtained support the involvement of the V region in the persistence of peripheral B cell populations.

Domaines: Immunologie

Maria Manuela Rosado, Antonio A. Freitas. The role of the B cell receptor V region in peripheral B cell survival.. European Journal of Immunology, 1998, 28 (9), pp.2685-93. ⟨10.1002/(SICI)1521-4141(199809)28:09<2685::AID-IMMU2685>3.0.CO;2-W⟩. ⟨pasteur-00327534⟩