title: Novel function of B cell-activating factor in the induction of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells.
abstract: Although B cells have been shown to possess a regulatory function, microenvironmental factors or cytokines involved in the induction of regulatory B cells remain largely uncharacterized. B cell-activating factor (BAFF), a member of TNF family cytokines, is a key regulator for B cell maturation and function. In this study, we detected significantly increased numbers of IL-10-producing B cells in BAFF-treated B cell cultures, an effect specifically abrogated by neutralization of BAFF with TACI-Fc. BAFF-induced IL-10-producing B cells showed a distinct CD1d(hi)CD5(+) phenotype, which were mainly derived from marginal zone B cells. Moreover, BAFF activated transcription factor AP-1 for binding to IL-10 promoter. Notably, BAFF treatment in vivo increased the number of IL-10-producing B cells in marginal zone regions. Furthermore, BAFF-induced IL-10-producing B cells possess a regulatory function both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our findings identify a novel function of BAFF in the induction of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Center of Infection and Immunology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lingyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shengjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: King-Hung
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Huaxi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Bo-Jian
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Xuetao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Liwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D053264:B-Cell Activating Factor; C505720:Tnfsf13b protein, mouse; D018808:Transcription Factor AP-1; D016753:Interleukin-10