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Updated: Sep 21, 2026

Retroviral Overexpression of CXCR4 on Murine B-1a Cells and Adoptive Transfer for Targeted B-1a Cell Migration to the Bone Marrow and IgM Production
Published on: May 31, 2020
Antibody repertoire and gene expression profile: implications for different developmental and functional traits of
Karsten Kretschmer1, Anke Jungebloud, Jana Stopkowicz
1Molecular Immunology, German Research Center for Biotechnology, Braunschweig, Germany. kkr@gbf.de
In L2 mice, a high expression level of the transgenic lambda2(315) L chain results in nearly complete exclusion of endogenous L chains and a predominance of B-1a cells. In this study, we show that splenic and peritoneal B-1a cells differ considerably in their Ab repertoire and gene expression profile. Splenic B-1a cells exhibit a more diversified repertoire under L chain limitation. Despite oligoclonal overlaps between both B-1a compartments, some B cell receptor specificities are clearly restricted to the peritoneum. The capacity of peritoneal B-1a cells to enter the splenic B-1a compartment was found to be very limited. Gene expression profiling revealed genes up-regulated in splenic B-1a cells that are involved in mediating specialized first-line-of-defense effector functions and interaction with T cells. Thus, splenic and peritoneal B-1a cells differ not only in their developmental program but also in functional properties.
In L2 mice, a high expression level of the transgenic lambda2(315) L chain results in nearly complete exclusion of endogenous L chains and a predominance of B-1a cells. In this study, we show that splenic and peritoneal B-1a cells differ considerably in their Ab repertoire and gene expression profile. Splenic B-1a cells exhibit a more diversified repertoire under L chain limitation. Despite oligoclonal overlaps between both B-1a compartments, some B cell receptor specificities are clearly restricted to the peritoneum. The capacity of peritoneal B-1a cells to enter the splenic B-1a compartment was found to be very limited. Gene expression profiling revealed genes up-regulated in splenic B-1a cells that are involved in mediating specialized first-line-of-defense effector functions and interaction with T cells. Thus, splenic and peritoneal B-1a cells differ not only in their developmental program but also in functional properties.
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