HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jimmunol.0902473v1 183/10/6359    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Foote, J. B. Articles by Kearney, J. F. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Foote, J. B. Articles by Kearney, J. F.

Generation of B Cell Memory to the Bacterial Polysaccharide -1,3 Dextran¹

Department of Microbiology, The University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294-2182

B1b B cells generate a novel form of memory and provide Ab mediated-protection to persisting bacterial pathogens. To understand how B1b B cells establish memory to polysaccharide Ags, we studied an oligoclonal B cell response to -1,3 dextran (DEX) expressed on Enterobacter cloacae. B cells specific for DEX enrich in the marginal zone (MZ) and B1b B cell populations. After E. cloacae immunization, MZ B cells were responsible for the generation of initial peak DEX-specific Ab titers, whereas, DEX-specific B1b B cells expanded and played an important role in boosted production of DEX-specific Ab titers upon E. cloacae rechallenge. Cell transfer experiments demonstrate that B1b B cells possess the capacity for both robust proliferation and plasma cell differentiation, thus distinguishing themselves from MZ B cells, which uniformly commit to plasma cell differentiation. These results define B1b B cells as the principal reservoir for memory to bacterial-associated polysaccharide Ags.

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

¹ This work was supported by Grant RO1AI014782-32 from the National Institutes of Health. This work is part of the dissertation research conducted by Jeremy B. Foote, a predoctoral student in the Microbiology Graduate Program, The University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294.

² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. John F. Kearney, Shelby Building, Suite 410, 1825 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294. E-mail address: jfk{at}uab.edu

³ Abbreviations used in this paper: TI, T cell-independent; FO, follicular; MZ, marginal zone; TG, transgenic; DEX, -1,3 dextran; Id, idiotype; WT, wild type; RF, recirculating follicular.