title: c-kit expression by B cell precursors in mouse bone marrow. Stimulation of B cell genesis by in vivo treatment with anti-c-kit antibody.
abstract: To examine the in vivo role of c-kit receptor in B lymphopoiesis we have evaluated precursor B cell populations expressing c-kit in mouse bone marrow and the effects on B cell genesis of administering a neutralizing anti-c-kit mAb, ACK2. Double immunofluorescence labeling and mitotic arrest were used to examine bone marrow cells from BALB/c mice. Almost one-half of TdT+ cells and one-quarter of B220+ cells coexpressed c-kit, mainly at low intensities, and were actively proliferating in vivo. c-kit+ cells that lacked B lineage markers expressed c-kit in high intensities and entered mitosis at an exceptionally rapid rate. In ACK2-treated mice, erythroid and granulocytic cells were almost completely absent from the bone marrow, whereas, in contrast, B lymphopoiesis was stimulated. Pre-B cells expressing cytoplasmic mu-chains; as well as TdT+B220+ cells before mu expression, were increased two- to fourfold in number and production rate. IgM-bearing B lymphocytes were increased in bone marrow and spleen. The results demonstrate that many early precursor B cells in mouse bone marrow constitutively express c-kit receptor. The failure of ACK2 treatment to block B lymphopoiesis, however, suggests that c-kit receptor function is not essential for precursor B cell development in vivo, but can be replaced by alternative signaling systems. The stimulation of B cell genesis by ACK2 treatment may reflect a conferred advantage in the competition for microenvironmental factors which underlies the balance between B lymphopoiesis and other hemopoietic lineages in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rico-Vargas
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weiskopf
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Osmond
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D004253:DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000737:chemistry*; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D016184:Receptors, Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016184:Receptors, Colony-Stimulating Factor; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D004253:DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens