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CUTTING EDGE |



*
Department of Pathology, Vrÿe Universiteit University Hospital, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and
E. C. Slater Instituut, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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The role of Pc-G genes in developmental processes continues in adult life, and studies of Pc-G mutant mice demonstrated that Pc-G genes are essential for lymphoid development. Lymphocyte precursors in mice with a targeted deletion of MEL-18 (1) or BMI-1 (2) insufficiently respond to IL-7, which ultimately leads to severe lymphoid hypoplasia. Upon activation through their Ag receptor, B cells of MEL-18 transgenic mice enter cell cycle arrest through a c-myc/cdc25 cascade (14). By contrast, BMI-1 transgenic mice exhibit enhanced lymphoproliferation and induction of lymphomas, possibly by suppressing expression of p16/INKA4 and p19arf (15), and in collaboration with c-myc (3, 16). The latter observations demonstrate that Pc-G proteins also have an important role in regulation of the cell cycle.
The contribution of Pc-G genes to regulation of human hematopoiesis is relatively unexplored. PCR analysis of bone marrow subpopulations showed marked changes of human Pc-G transcription levels in developing lymphoid precursors (17). Pc-G transcription is detectable in tissues with high cell division rates, such as embryonic tissue or bone marrow, and appears to change at different stages of differentiation. Since germinal centers (GCs) are characterized by high cell proliferation rates, with maintenance of spatial maturity patterns of lymphoid cells, we questioned whether differentiation of B cells in GCs is reflected in altered expression of human Pc-G genes. We demonstrate that the GC mantle zone, dark zone (DZ), and light zone (LZ) are associated with distinct expression profiles of the BMI-1/RING1 and ENX/EED Pc-G proteins. These patterns reflect the differential composition of the two previously identified distinct Pc-G complexes and suggest that human Pc-G proteins play a role in GC development and Ag-specific B cell differentiation.
| Materials and Methods |
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For double immunofluorescence, tissue sections were fixed in 2% formaldehyde and endogenous peroxidase was inhibited as above. Following preincubation with 5% BSA, primary Abs against BMI-1 (6C9) or Mib-1/Ki-67 were applied in combination with K358 (anti-ENX) or A452 (anti-CD3). BMI-1 and Mib-1 were detected by biotinylated goat anti-mouse antiserum followed by streptavidinCY3. ENX and CD3 were detected by swine anti-rabbit Ig-peroxidase-antiperoxidase), followed by FITC. Cross-reactivity of the antisera was excluded by appropriate controls, and sections were analyzed and photographed with a Leica DMRB immunofluorescence microscope (Leica, Deerfield, IL).
| Results and Discussion |
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GCs are sites of multiplication and selection of Ag-specific B cells and consist of a follicle surrounded by a mantle zone (18, 19). The follicle contains a DZ and a LZ. During the GC reaction, rapidly dividing centroblasts give rise to centrocytes that are subject to antigenic selection. The DZ is primarily composed of centroblasts and centrocytes, whereas the LZ mainly contains centrocytes, a follicular network of Ag-presenting dendritic cells and helper T cells. B cells in the mantle zone are regarded as the precursors of centroblasts (the primary follicle).
We performed an immunohistochemical analysis of Pc-G expression in GCs
of the human tonsil. BMI-1 and RING1, and ENX and EED, were
investigated as representative of two different human Pc-G complexes.
Expression of these proteins was detected in nuclear staining patterns,
as shown previously (7, 8, 9), and depended on the stage of
lymphocyte development in the GC reaction (Fig. 1
). Similar results were obtained with
GCs in lymph nodes (data not shown). Resting B cells in the mantle zone
stained for BMI-1/RING1 with varying intensity, but did not express ENX
or EED (Fig. 1
). By contrast, centroblasts in the DZ area were
BMI-1- and RING1- (Fig. 1
, E and F), whereas the vast majority of such
cells expressed ENX and EED (Fig. 1
, G and H). A
large portion of LZ centrocytes expressed BMI-1 and RING1 (Fig. 1
, I and J), whereas ENX and EED expression in the
LZ was notably reduced (Fig. 1
, K and L). Most
ENX+ or EED+ cells in the
LZ had a centroblast appearance. Note that occasional
BMI-1+ or RING+ cells in
the DZ were ENX-- and
EED--tingible body macrophages (Fig. 1
, EH). In addition, a minority of
BMI-1+ follicular lymphocytes were T cells (Fig. 2
A).
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GC architecture is reflected in differential Pc-G expression and reflects the composition of two different Pc-G complexes
The known kinetics of GC formation (18, 19) and differential Pc-G expression patterns observed in the current study suggest that human Pc-G genes play a role in the GC reaction. Resting naive B cells in the mantle zone are remnants of the primary follicle that was present before initiation of the GC reaction (19). These cells can be viewed as precursors of DZ centroblasts, which in turn give rise to DZ and LZ centrocytes. These mantle B cells expressed BMI-1 and RING1 with varying intensity, but did not express ENX or EED. Because DZ centroblasts were BMI-1-/RING1- and ENX+/EED+, we conclude that initiation of the GC reaction coincides with the appearance of ENX and EED expression, whereas BMI-1 and RING1 expression is lost. This process is linked to initiation of increased cell division, because ENX+ centroblasts also stain for Mib-1. The next step, differentiation of centroblasts into centrocytes (18, 19), appears to be associated with loss of ENX, EED, and Mib-1 expression while BMI-1 and RING1 reappear. Sporadically observed BMI-1/ENX and BMI-1/Mib-1 double-positive cells probably represent the transitional stage between centroblasts and centrocytes.
A very interesting aspect of the BMI-1/RING1 and ENX/EED staining patterns in secondary GCs is that they reflect the composition of two different human Pc-G complexes containing either BMI-1 and RING1 or ENX and EED (7, 8, 9, 12, 13). We speculate that the GC reaction is associated with formation of different Pc-G complexes, with different functions and different target genes. In this regard, the classification of BMI-1 as a classic Pc-G gene and ENX as a gene that shares similarities to both Pc-G and trithorax group proteins (21) may be relevant. Earlier studies demonstrated that interaction of CD40L/gp39 on T cells with CD40 on the B cell during Ag-specific responses move the B cell into the cell cycle (22). CD40L-CD40 interaction and antigenic triggering are therefore likely contributing factors to the switch in Pc-G expression profiles.
Concluding remarks
Pc-G genes are important regulators of cellular differentiation during embryonic development and also appear to contribute to regulation of hematopoiesis. Our analysis of human Pc-G expression demonstrated that BMI-1/RING1 and ENX/EED expression patterns were mutually exclusive in the GC and dependent on the developmental stage of the B cell. Follicular precursor B cells in the mantle, and follicular centroblasts and centrocytes, exhibited characteristic Pc-G staining patterns that can be interpreted as generation of different Pc-G complexes and consecutive on/off switching of Pc-G gene expression during GC formation. We propose that these gene-regulatory proteins play a role in GC development and Ag-specific differentiation of B cells.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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2 Abbreviations used in this paper: Pc-G, polycomb group; DZ, dark zone; GC, germinal center; LZ, light zone. ![]()
Received for publication July 13, 1999. Accepted for publication November 1, 1999.
| References |
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