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Published online July 10, 2009
The Journal of Immunology, 2009, 183, 2176 -2182
Copyright © 2009 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0901297
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Atypical Memory B Cells Are Greatly Expanded in Individuals Living in a Malaria-Endemic Area1

Greta E. Weiss*, Peter D. Crompton*, Shanping Li*, Laura A. Walsh*, Susan Moir{dagger}, Boubacar Traore{ddagger}, Kassoum Kayentao{ddagger}, Aissata Ongoiba{ddagger}, Ogobara K. Doumbo{ddagger} and Susan K. Pierce2,*

* Laboratory of Immunogenetics and {dagger} Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20852; and {ddagger} Malaria Research and Training Centre, Department of Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Odonto-Stomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali

Epidemiological observations in malaria endemic areas have long suggested a deficiency in the generation and maintenance of B cell memory to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) in individuals chronically reinfected with the parasite. Recently, a functionally and phenotypically distinct population of FCRL4+ hyporesponsive memory B cells (MBCs) was reported to be expanded in HIV-infected individuals with high viral loads. In this study, we provide evidence that a phenotypically similar atypical MBC population is significantly expanded in Pf-exposed Malian adults and children as young as 2 years of age as compared with healthy U.S. adult controls. The number of these atypical MBCs was higher in children with chronic asymptomatic Pf infections compared with uninfected children, suggesting that the chronic presence of the parasite may drive expansion of these distinct MBCs. This is the first description of an atypical MBC phenotype associated with malaria. Understanding the origin and function of these MBCs could be important in informing the design of malaria vaccines.

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 the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Susan K. Pierce, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health/Twinbrook II, 12441 Parklawn Drive, Room 200B, MSC 8180, Rockville, MD 20852. E-mail address: spierce{at}nih.gov

3 Abbreviations used in this paper: Pf, Plasmodium falciparum; ASC, Ab-secreting cell; CI, confidence interval; MBC, memory B cell; MFI, mean fluorescence intensity; SAC, Staphylococcus aureus Cowan.


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