Notch activity synergizes with B-cell-receptor and CD40 signaling to enhance B-cell activation

How diverse environmental cues are integrated to regulate B-cell activation and development remains poorly understood. Here we show that Notch activity synergizes with B-cell receptor (BCR) and/or CD40 signaling to enhance several aspects of B-cell activation and function. We find that costimulation of follicular B cells with the Notch ligand Delta-like-1 leads to significant increases in BCR- and CD40-mediated proliferation and enhances production of IgG1(+) cells in vitro and in vivo. We further find that coengagement of Notch and the BCR results in increased activation of the MAPK pathway, and MAPK and Notch inhibitors prevent B-cell activation events mediated by coengagement of Notch and the BCR. These data suggest that the BCR and CD40 signaling pathways collaborate with the Notch pathway to optimize B-cell activation.