title: Growth-supporting activity of fragment Ba of the human alternative complement pathway for activated murine B lymphocytes.
abstract: We have investigated the effects of cleavage of factor B by its activating enzyme, factor D, as well as its activation fragments Bb and Ba, on the growth of mouse spleen B lymphocytes preactivated by LPS. Neither factor B nor factor D show any growth-supporting activity when tested alone. The coaddition of factor B and factor D to serum-free cultures of LPS-preactivated B cell blasts increased the proliferation of the responding cells up to the level obtained by restimulation with LPS. Such growth-supporting activity was shown to be mediated by Ba, whereas Bb did not show any significant effect. Furthermore, this effect was not restricted to the LPS-preactivated B cell blasts; in fact, Ba also supported the growth of in vivo, activated B cell blasts of unprimed mice of the LPS-nonresponder C3H/HeJ strain. In contrast, Ba did not maintain growth of Con A-activated T cells or TCGF-dependent CTL cells. Taken together, these results describe the first biological activity of human Ba as a B cell stimulatory factor.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D002455:Cell Division; D011415:Complement Factor B / Q000502:physiology*; D011416:Complement Factor D / Q000378:metabolism; D003170:Complement Pathway, Alternative; D004792:Enzyme Precursors / Q000502:physiology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D004792:Enzyme Precursors; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C493488:CFD protein, human; D011416:Complement Factor D; C493491:complement factor D, mouse; D011415:Complement Factor B