title: Pre-B cells in mouse bone marrow: in vitro maturation of peanut agglutinin binding B lymphocyte precursors separated from bone marrow by fluorescence-activated cell sorting.
abstract: Peanut agglutinin (PNA) binding by mouse bone marrow cells and fractionation by the fluorescence-activated cell sorter have previously been shown to separate high concentrations of pre-B cells, as identified by cytoplasmic mu-chains (c mu). PNA+ and PNA- marrow cell fractions have now been assayed for the presence of functional pre-B cells able to generate mature B cells in culture, as defined by three criteria, the appearance of cell surface mu-chains (s mu), immunoglobulin secretion in response to bacterial lipopolysaccharides, and B cell colony formation. Small PNA+ cell fractions contained pre-B cells that developed into mature B lymphocytes in 1/2 to 1 day but did not sustain B cell production. Large PNA+ cells included pre-B cells that gave rise to mature B lymphocytes after an interval of 1 1/2 to 3 days and were able to sustain B cell genesis in vitro for at least 3 to 5 days thereafter. PNA- cell fractions contained mature B cells but lacked pre-B cell activity. The results demonstrate that PNA binding allows the separation of functional subsets of pre-B cells from bone marrow and that the three in vitro assays used in this study are closely comparable with one another as functional pre-B cell criteria. The findings suggest correlations between functional assays, c mu expression, PNA receptors, and cell size in characterizing stages of pre-B cell development.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002469:Cell Separation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains; D037102:Lectins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D019887:Peanut Agglutinin; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains; D037102:Lectins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019887:Peanut Agglutinin; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell