Reversion of B cell commitment upon loss of Pax5 expression

The transcription factor Pax5 is essential for initiating B cell lineage commitment, but its role in maintaining commitment is unknown. Using conditional Pax5 inactivation in committed pro-B cells, we demonstrate that Pax5 is required not only to initiate its B lymphoid transcription program, but also to maintain it in early B cell development. As a consequence of Pax5 inactivation, previously committed pro-B cells regained the capacity to differentiate into macrophages in vitro and to reconstitute T cell development in vivo in RAG2-/- mice. Hence, Pax5 expression is continuously required to maintain B cell lineage commitment, because its loss converts committed pro-B cells into hematopoietic progenitors with multilineage potential.