Differential regulation of marginal zone and follicular B cell responses by CD83

Transgenic over-expression of CD83 on B cells leads to a reduced response to BCR engagement but to an enhanced secretion of IL-10 upon LPS stimulation. In this study, we analyzed the differential influence of CD83 on the stimulation of different B cell subsets via the BCR or TLR4. Neither wild type nor CD83 transgenic (CD83tg) B cells produced any IL-10 in response to BCR stimulation. BCR engagement led to reduced activation of LYN, SYK and ERK1/2 resulting in reduced numbers of proliferating cells in all CD83tg B cell subsets. Moreover, CD83tg follicular (FO) but not marginal zone (MZ) or transitional (TN) B cells showed significantly enhanced cell death. In contrast, LPS stimulation led to normal frequencies of proliferating CD83tg FO, MZ and TN B cells although TLR4 engagement did not rescue FO B cells from apoptosis. Furthermore, LPS stimulation led to high IL-10 production derived from CD83tg MZ B cells that reacted to LPS stimulation with enhanced ERK1/2 activation. Finally, we show that CD83 co-localizes with the BCR complex as well as with the LPS receptor complex suggesting that CD83 interacts with components of both signaling complexes. Taken together, the results of this study show that CD83 already inhibits the initiation of BCR signaling leading to insufficient activation signals in all B cells and reduced survival especially of FO B cells. On the other hand, CD83 supports TLR4-mediated IL-10 release exclusively in MZ B cells. Thus, CD83 differentially modulates FO and MZ B cell responses.