Response of human B cells to Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I: T-independent proliferation and T-dependent differentiation to immunoglobulin secretion involve subsets separable by rosetting with mouse erythrocytes.
We separated T-depleted mononuclear cells into subsets by rosetting with mouse erythrocytes and studied proliferation and differentiation responses to Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I (SAC), pokeweed mitogen (PWM), and a combination of the two polyclonal activators. All of the T cell-independent proliferation of unfractionated B cells in response to SAC was attributable to mouse erythrocyte rosette-forming cells (BMR+). BMR- cells were not stimulated to proliferate by SAC in the presence or absence of T cells, but did proliferate to PWM plus irradiated T cells. Co-stimulation of BMR+ cells with SAC and PWM in the presence of autologous T cells did not lead to immunoglobulin secretion. The B cells stimulated to divide by SAC apparently do not become responsive to B cell differentiation factors and are distinct from those that undergo T cell-dependent differentiation.
D000818:Animals; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002469:Cell Separation; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D012397:Rosette Formation; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000955:Antigens, T-Independent; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A