title: Analysis by Flow Cytometry of B-Cell Activation and Antibody Responses Induced by Toll-Like Receptors.
abstract: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed in B lymphocytes and contribute to B-cell activation, antibody responses, and their maturation. TLR stimulation of mouse B cells induces class switch DNA recombination (CSR) to isotypes specified by cytokines, and also induces formation of IgM(+) as well as class-switched plasma cells. B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, while on its own inducing limited B-cell proliferation and no CSR, can enhance CSR driven by TLRs. Particular synergistic or antagonistic interactions among TLR pathways, BCR, and cytokine signaling can have important consequences for B-cell activation, CSR, and plasma cell formation. This chapter outlines protocols for the induction and analysis of B-cell activation and antibody production by TLRs with or without other stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA. epone@uci.edu.
authors.forename: Egest J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Pone
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D018189:Immunomagnetic Separation; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors
keywords: AID; Antibody; B cells; B-cell receptor (BCR); Class switch DNA recombination (CSR); CpG; Cytokine; Germinal center; Immunoglobulin; Lipopolysaccharides (LPS); T-independent antibody response; Toll-like Receptor (TLR)