title: B-lineage cell deficits in bone marrow of lpr/lpr mice.
abstract: Analyses of bone marrow (BM) lymphocytes in C57BL/6 mice homozygous for the lpr mutation (B6.lpr) disclosed low numbers of pre-B and B cells, as compared with age-matched control B6 mice. BM depletion in B6.lpr mice was selective for B-lineage cells, appeared in young adults, and developed markedly with age and disease progression, contrasting with the peripheral lymphocyte hypercellularity. Normalization of pre-B and B cellularity in BM of B6.lpr mice was observed after administration of polyclonal Ig, that also markedly improved the clinical condition. Isolated pre-B (B220+ IgM-) cells from B6 or B6.lpr mice, however, showed essentially the same rates of IL-7-dependent proliferation and differentiation to B (IgM+) cells in culture, indicating that the BM B-lineage deficit is not the result of an intrinsic defect in B cell generation.
authors.affiliation: Unite d'Immunobiologie, CNRS URA 359, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sundblad
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coutinho
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology