title: Recirculating and germinal center B cells differentiate into cells responsive to polysaccharide antigens.
abstract: Antibodies against bacterial capsular polysaccharides play a critical protective role. Responses to these antigens can occur without the help or control of T cells and are associated with marginal zone (MZ) B cells. Capsular antigens are diverse and some cross-react with self-carbohydrate epitopes. This diversity may explain the recruitment of non-autoreactive recirculating B cells and memory B cells to the MZ in addition to other B cells, some of which are weakly autoreactive cells, that are recruited to the MZ without entering the recirculating pool. To test whether memory B cells respond to polysaccharide-based antigens, mice with hapten-specific memory B cells were challenged with hapten-polysaccharide. Hapten-specific plasma cells producing high affinity antibody with Ig V-region mutations were induced. To test whether naive recirculating B cells can form MZ cells that respond to polysaccharide, recirculating B cells from lymph nodes were transferred into Rag-1-deficient mice. MZ cells differentiated from the donor cells without proliferation or T cell help and responded to polysaccharide-based antigen. The differentiation of B cells both from germinal centers and the recirculating pool to the MZ phenotype is likely to make an important contribution to the repertoire of B cells that respond to polysaccharide antigens.
authors.affiliation: University of Birmingham, MRC Centre for Immune Regulation, Birmingham, GB.
authors.forename: Carola G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Vinuesa
authors.forename: Daniel M Y
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sze
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Kai-Michael
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Toellner
authors.forename: Gerry G B
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Klaus
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.forename: Ian C M
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: MacLennan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent / Q000276:immunology; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D015322:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte; D016654:Genes, RAG-1; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000166:cytology*; D006241:Haptens / Q000276:immunology; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent; D006241:Haptens; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial