Dependence of Germinal Center B Cells on Expression of CD21/CD35 for Survival

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 280; no. 5363; pp. 582 - 585
• Main Authors: Fischer, Michael B., Goerg, Siegfried, Shen, LiMing, Prodeus, Andrey P., Goodnow, Christopher C., Kelsoe, Garnett, Carroll, Michael C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 24-04-1998; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Adoptive Transfer; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antigens; B cells; B lymphocytes; B-Lymphocytes - cytology; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Cell Division; Cell Survival; Cells; Cellular biology; Feedback (Response); Female; Follicles; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Gene Expression; Germinal Center - cytology; Germinal Center - immunology; Immunity; Immunity (Physiology); Immunization; Immunobiology; Immunology; Lymphocyte Activation; Lymphocytes; Lymphoid cells: ontogeny, maturation, markers, receptors, circulation and recirculation; Lymphoid tissue; Male; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Molecular Sequence Data; Muramidase - immunology; Numbers; Physiological aspects; Receptors; Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell - immunology; Receptors, Complement 3b - genetics; Receptors, Complement 3b - immunology; Receptors, Complement 3d - genetics; Receptors, Complement 3d - immunology; Rodents; Spleen; Spleen - immunology; T lymphocytes; Phenotype; Complement; Lymphatic follicle; Cellular immunity; B-Lymphocyte; Survival; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5363.582

Affinity-driven selection of B lymphocytes within germinal centers is critical for the development of high-affinity memory cells and host protection. To investigate the role of the CD21/CD35 coreceptor in B cell competition for follicular retention and survival within the germinal center, either Cr2$^+$ or Cr2$^{null}$ lysozyme-specific transgenic B cells were adoptively transferred into normal mice immunized with duck (DEL) or turkey (TEL) lysozyme, which bind with different affinities. In mice injected with high-affinity turkey lysozyme, Cr2$^{null}$ B cells responded by follicular retention; however, they could not survive within germinal centers. This suggests that CD21 provides a signal independent of antigen that is required for survival of B cells in the germinal center.