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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Detection and Enrichment of Rare Antigen-specific B Cells for Analysis of Phenotype and Function
Published on: February 16, 2017
BAFF/BLyS can potentiate B-cell selection with the B-cell coreceptor complex
Hidenori Hase1, Yumiko Kanno, Masaru Kojima
1Division of Immunology, Institute for Medical Science, and Department of Pathology, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, Mibu, Tochigi 321-0293, Japan
Abstract:
The tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like ligand BAFF/BLyS (B-cell activating factor of the TNF family/B-lymphocyte stimulator) is a potent B-cell survival factor, yet its functional relationship with other B-cell surface molecules such as CD19 and CD40 is poorly understood. We found that follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) in human lymph nodes expressed BAFF abundantly. BAFF up-regulated a B cell-specific transcription factor Pax5/BSAP (Pax5/B cell-specific activator protein) activity and its target CD19, a major component of the B-cell coreceptor complex, and synergistically enhanced CD19 phosphorylation by B-cell antigen receptor (BCR). BAFF further enhanced B-cell proliferation, immunoglobulin G (IgG) production, and reactivity to CD154 by BCR/CD19 coligation and interleukin-15 (IL-15). Our results suggest that BAFF may play an important role in FDC-B-cell interactions through the B-cell coreceptor complex and a possibly sequential link between the T cell-independent and -dependent B-cell responses in the germinal centers.
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