Activation of human and murine B cells by anti-immunoglobulin antibody: dependence of the response on the preexisting level of B-cell activation.
Previous reports of the response of B lymphocytes to soluble anti-immunoglobulin (anti-Ig) antibodies have yielded conflicting data. While most studies show activation of B cells, others have shown inhibitory effects. In the assay reported in this report, we were able to obtain widely diverse responses of human B-cell populations to anti-Ig antibody. An explanation of this variability was established by resort to an animal (murine) model. Mice maintained in a pathogen-free environment failed to respond or responded only weakly to anti-Ig antibody. Mice which had previously received heavy antigenic stimulation, but at the time of the experiment were not undergoing any known challenge, showed a marked positive response. Mice deliberately challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 24 hr prior to anti-Ig antibody exposure showed a high background mitogenesis in control cultures, which was inhibited by anti-Ig antibody. This preliminary study suggests that response to anti-Ig antibody differs in each phase of B-cell differentiation. In future studies it is hoped that this variability in response can be used to characterize different subsets of B-cell differentiation separated by physical or phenotypic parameters.
D000818:Animals; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology
D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides