title: Unique maturation program of the IgE response in vivo.
abstract: A key event in the pathogenesis of asthma and allergies is the production of IgE antibodies. We show here that IgE(+) cells were exceptional because they were largely found outside germinal centers and expressed, from very early on, a genetic program of plasma cells. In spite of their extragerminal center localization, IgE(+) cells showed signs of somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation. We demonstrated that high-affinity IgE(+) cells could be generated through a unique differentiation program that involved two phases: a pre-IgE phase in which somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation take place in IgG1(+) cells, and a post-IgE-switching phase in which IgE cells differentiate swiftly into plasma cells. Our results have implications for the understanding of IgE memory responses in allergy.
authors.affiliation: Program of Molecular Pathogenesis, Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Erazo
authors.forename: Nino
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kutchukhidze
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Ana P Guarnieri
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Christ
authors.forename: Joseph F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Curotto de Lafaille
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lafaille
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D051379:Mice; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000276:immunology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D027041:Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007073:Immunoglobulin E