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Differences Between B Cell and Macrophage Transformation by the Bovine Parasite, Theileria annulata: A Clonal Approach¹

Institute of Veterinary Virology, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland

Theileria annulata, a tick-transmitted protozoan parasite, infects and transforms cells of the hemopoietic system, particularly those of the B cell and monocyte/macrophage lineages. Here, the effect of infection/transformation on the resulting phenotype was studied using a clonal approach. Three phenotypes of transformed cell lines could be discerned. The first is characterized by surface expression of IgM, CD21, and the B cell epitopes, B-B2 and B-B8, Ig heavy chain gene rearrangement, and mRNA expression. Such lines were obtained from fresh and cultured PBMC and at increased frequency from purified B cells, but never from fetal bone marrow cells. The second phenotype can be distinguished from the first by the absence of Ig heavy chain expression and reduced surface expression of B cell markers (CD21, B-B2, B-B8). Clones with this phenotype were obtained from transformed fetal bone marrow cells only. The third phenotype showed an absence of all of the above B cell markers, including surface IgM, and a lack of Ig heavy chain gene rearrangement. The latter clones could be maintained for several weeks after elimination of T. annulata by BW720c treatment, and they reacquired a macrophage-like phenotype. This implies that parasite-induced dedifferentiation is restricted to monocyte/macrophage, and that B cell markers are indicative of cell lineage progeny. Demonstration of surface IgM on PBMC-derived B cell clones suggests that infection of B cells with T. annulata may be an epigenetic method to immortalize ruminant B cells of a defined Ag specificity.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M.-F. Moreau, J.-L. Thibaud, L. B. Miled, M. Chaussepied, M. Baumgartner, W. C. Davis, P. Minoprio, and G. Langsley Theileria annulata in CD5+ Macrophages and B1 B Cells Infect. Immun., December 1, 1999; 67(12): 6678 - 6682. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]