Ontogeny of B lymphocyte function. XV. A role for thymus cells in the maturation of the capacity of a subpopulation of B cells to re-express surface immunoglobulin after treatment with anti-immunoglobulin.
The maturation of the C57BL/6 B cell population to be able to re-express surface immunoglobulin (sIg) after its removal by treatment with rabbit antimouse Ig (RAMIg) was studied in a cell transfer system. It was found that thymus cells were required for the maturation of a subset of the B cell population to be able to re-express sIg. The B cell population of irradiated, thymectomized mice reconstituted with spleen cells from donors under 2 wk of age remained deficient in their ability to re-express sIg even after 4 wk residence in the cell transfer recipient. In contrast, if adult thymus cells were transferred together with the immature B cells, the B cell population matured to be able to re-express sIg after treatment with RAMIg. Approximately one-third of the B cell population appears to require thymus cells for this maturation. The maturation of the thymus cell population to be capable of mediating this maturation of the B cell population occurs in two steps: between 2 and 3 and between 3 and 4 wk of age. This timing corresponds to the age at which the B cell population of C57BL/6 mice normally acquires the capacity to re-express sIg, which we have previously shown to also occur in two steps. Thymus cells from 3-wk-old donors can mediate the first step in B cell maturation to be able to re-express sIg, but cannot mediate the second step in this maturation of the B cell population. Thymus cells from 4-wk-old donors can mediate both steps in the maturation of the B cell population. The results suggest that thymus cells are involved in regulating some aspects of B cell differentiation.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000502:physiology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011247:Pregnancy; D011828:Radiation Chimera; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology
D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell