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Surrogate light chain production during B cell differentiation: differential intracellular versus cell surface
Y H Wang1, J Nomura, O M Faye-Petersen
1Department of Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham 35924-3300, USA.
Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
|August 1, 1998
Summary
Surrogate light chains are intermittently produced during human B-cell development. Their function as cell surface receptor components is mainly limited to the pre-B cell stage.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Hematopoiesis
Background:
- Surrogate light (psi L) chain genes, encoding VpreB and lambda 5/14.1 proteins, are expressed in B-lineage cells.
- The role of psi L chains as cell surface receptor components in pro-B and pre-B cells is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression and function of surrogate light chains during human B-lineage differentiation.
- To determine if psi L chains are utilized as cell surface receptor components by pro-B and pre-B cells.
Main Methods:
- Generation of a panel of monoclonal anti-VpreB antibodies (Abs).
- Immunoprecipitation of native psi L chain proteins from B-lineage cells.
- Flow cytometry analysis of VpreB protein expression on normal bone marrow cells and cell lines.
Main Results:
- 16 out of 26 anti-VpreB Abs precipitated native psi L chain proteins from pro-B and pre-B cells.
- Surrogate light chains were readily detected on pre-B cells, but required permeabilization for detection in pro-B cells.
- VpreB proteins were found intracellularly in pro-B cells and on pre-B cell receptors, but not on mature B cells, except intracellularly in a subset of germinal center B cells.
Conclusions:
- Surrogate light chains are intermittently produced during human B-lineage differentiation.
- The function of surrogate light chains as receptor components appears to be primarily restricted to the pre-B cell stage.