Basophils enhance immunological memory responses.
The cellular basis of immunological memory remains a controversial issue. Here we show that basophils bound large amounts of intact antigens on their surface and were the main source of interleukins 6 and 4 in the spleen and bone marrow after restimulation with a soluble antigen. Depletion of basophils resulted in a much lower humoral memory response and greater susceptibility of immunized mice to sepsis induced by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Adoptive transfer of antigen-reactive basophils significantly increased specific antibody production, and activated basophils, together with CD4(+) T cells, profoundly enhanced B cell proliferation and immunoglobulin production. These basophil-dependent effects on B cells required interleukins 6 and 4 and increased the capacity of CD4(+) T cells to provide B cell help. Thus, basophils are important contributors to humoral memory immune responses.
Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg, Germany.
Andrea
A
Denzel
Ulrich A
UA
Maus
Manuel
M
Rodriguez Gomez
Cordula
C
Moll
Marianne
M
Niedermeier
Christine
C
Winter
Regina
R
Maus
Susan
S
Hollingshead
David E
DE
Briles
Leoni A
LA
Kunz-Schughart
Yvonne
Y
Talke
Matthias
M
Mack
D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000276:immunology; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D001491:Basophils / Q000276:immunology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
D015850:Interleukin-6; D015847:Interleukin-4