Expression of membrane-bound burst-promoting activity is mediated by allogeneic effector cells

To investigate whether "self" and "non-self" recognition processes are involved in murine erythropoiesis, the expression of membrane-bound burst-promoting activity (mBPA) was determined for B lymphocytes purified from spleens of CF-1, C57 BL/6J, B6021-7115, and CAF-1J mice using syngeneic and allogeneic bone marrow cultures. Addition of B lymphocyte conditioned medium (LCM), shed membrane-derived vesicles, or intact plasma membranes prepared from syngeneic murine cells stimulated erythroid burst-forming unit (BFU-E) proliferation by two- to three-fold above control levels. BFU-E proliferation was increased by six- to eight-fold, however, when LCM, shed membrane vesicles, or plasma membranes purified from allogenic B lymphocytes were used as sources of growth-stimulatory activity. Bioactivity was immunoprecipitated from detergent extracts of membranes purified from both allogeneic and syngeneic lymphocytes with a monoclonal antibody that specifically recognizes mBPA, suggesting that the factors expressed by these cells share antigenic determinants. The results indicate that allogeneic effector cells are a more potent source of mBPA-like molecules than are syngeneic cells, suggesting that immune mechanisms may be involved in inducing erythroid growth factor expression at the B cell surface.