Bone marrow basophils provide survival signals to immature B cells in vitro but are dispensable in vivo

PLoS One. 2017 Sep 28;12(9):e0185509. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185509. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Immature B cells are the first B cell progenitors to express a fully formed B cell receptor and are therefore subject to extensive selection processes that act to mitigate the emergence of autoreactive clones. While it is well appreciated that most B cell generation in the bone marrow is highly dependent on access to molecules present in the local milieu, the existence of extrinsically provided factors that modulate immature B cell biology is ambiguous. Nonetheless, a population of CD49b+CD90lo cells has demonstrated in vitro potential to promote immature B cell survival. Using a mouse basophil reporter strain we confirmed the identity of these CD49b+CD90lo supportive cells as basophils. However, analysis of bone marrow B cell populations following lineage specific basophil depletion demonstrates that basophils do not have a significant role in vivo in modulating immature B cell biology during steady-state conditions.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Basophils / cytology*
  • Basophils / metabolism
  • Bone Marrow Cells / cytology*
  • Bone Marrow Cells / metabolism
  • Cell Lineage
  • Cell Survival
  • Coculture Techniques
  • Cytoprotection
  • Female
  • Homeodomain Proteins / metabolism
  • Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains / metabolism
  • Integrin alpha2 / metabolism
  • Lymphocyte Count
  • Mice
  • Precursor Cells, B-Lymphoid / cytology*
  • Precursor Cells, B-Lymphoid / metabolism
  • Thy-1 Antigens / metabolism

Substances

  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Immunoglobulin lambda-Chains
  • Integrin alpha2
  • Thy-1 Antigens
  • RAG-1 protein

Grants and funding

This study was supported through Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Toronto General/Toronto Western Foundation operating grants held by CJP.