Quantification of complement receptor 2 calcium signaling enhancement using flow cytometry.

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Complement receptor 2 (CR2) is expressed on B cells and follicular dendritic cells (FDC) in mice and humans.
• CR2 binds complement component 3 (C3) fragments like C3d(g) and iC3b.
• On B cells, CR2 functions as a co-receptor, reducing the activation threshold upon ligand binding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe methods for the functional analysis of calcium signaling.
• To investigate the role of CR2 co-receptor activity in enhancing B cell calcium signaling.

Main Methods:

• Detailed protocol for analyzing CR2 co-receptor function.
• Focus on measuring calcium signaling enhancement in B cells.

Main Results:

• Established methods for assessing CR2-mediated calcium signaling.
• Demonstrated CR2's role in modulating B cell activation thresholds via calcium signaling.

Conclusions:

• The described methods allow for functional analysis of CR2 co-receptor activity.
• CR2 plays a critical role in B cell activation by enhancing calcium signaling pathways.