Graphene Oxide Modulates B Cell Surface Phenotype and Impairs Immunoglobulin Secretion in Plasma Cell

Since discovery, graphene oxide (GO) has been used in all aspects of human life and revealed promising applications in biomedicine. Nevertheless, the potential risks of GO were always being revealed. Although GO was found to induce immune cell death and innate immune response, little is known regarding its toxicity to the specific adaptive immune system that is crucial for protecting against exotic invasion. The B-cell mediated adaptive immune system, which composed of highly specialized cells (B and plasma cell) and specific immune response (antibody response) is the focus in our present study. Using diverse standard immunological techniques, we found that GO modulated B cell surface phenotype, both costimulatory molecules (CD80, CD86 and especially CD40) and antigen presenting molecules (both classical and nonclassical) under the condition without causing cell death. Meanwhile, the terminal differentiated immunoglobulin (Ig) secreting plasma cell was affected by GO, which displayed a less secretion of Ig and more severe ER stress caused by the retention of the secreted form of Ig in cell compartment. The combined data reveal that GO has a particular adverse effect to B cell and the humoral immunity, directly demonstrating the potential risk of GO to the specific adaptive immunity.