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CUTTING EDGE |
Integrated Department of Immunology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO 80206
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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We recently reported that anergy can be induced at the immature B cell stage in bone marrow (5). B cell development in the bone marrow is dependent on stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)3/CXCL12-induced CXCR4 signaling, which promotes cell survival in supportive niches where CXCL12 is produced (6, 7, 8). CXCR4 signals are also required for the retention of immature B cells in the bone marrow (9). Mice reconstituted with CXCR4-deficient fetal liver have significantly reduced numbers of pre-B cells in the bone marrow and abnormally high numbers in the blood. In support of the importance of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in B cell development is the fact that mice deficient in either the ligand or the receptors lack B cells (10, 11).
Based on the described effects of BCR signaling on CXCR4 signaling in mature B cells, it seems likely that an immature B cell encounter with Ag in bone marrow may, by desensitizing responses to CXCL12, inhibit cell development, promote death, and cause premature egress from bone marrow niches. However, studies by King et al. (12) demonstrate that Ag receptor signaling does not lead to significant activation of protein kinase C in immature B cells. Thus, Ag receptor signaling in these cells may have no effect on CXCL12 regulation of development.
In this study we describe experiments that address whether acutely Ag-stimulated and anergic immature B lymphocytes display altered responses to CXCL12. We examined the effect of Ag receptor signaling in immature B cells from Ars/A1 transgenic mice (5). Ars/A1 B cells are specific for arsonate, but cross-reactive with ssDNA. Immature B cells from these animals are anergic as a consequence of Ag recognition in the bone marrow (5, 13). Our results demonstrate that anergic immature B cells are also inhibited in signaling responses, homing, and migration toward SDF-1.
In further studies exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying Ag-induced CXCR4 desensitization, we determined that BCR stimulation does not cause down-modulation of CXCR4 expression. Rather, the activation of inhibitory signaling pathways that mediate the degradation of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3) by the Src homology domain 2-containing 5-inositol phosphatase SHIP1 accounts for decreased SDF-1 sensitivity (14, 15). PIP3 is a necessary component of the signaling cascade required for SDF-1 induced migration (16, 17) and accumulates at the leading edge of migrating cells (18).
| Materials and Methods |
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Purified F(ab')2 of rabbit anti-mouse IgM (H+L) Abs were purchased from Zymed Laboratories and used for cell stimulation. Other Abs included biotinylated anti-CXCR4 (BD Pharmingen), anti-IgD (clone JA12.5), and anti-phosphotyrosine (clone 4G10) (Upstate) Abs. Purified Fabs of IgM (clone b-7-6) were generated and purified in the laboratory. Polyclonal rabbit anti-SHIP1 was prepared as previously described (19). Other reagents included SDF-1 (R&D Systems), PMA (Sigma-Aldrich), and CFMDA and Indo-AM (Molecular Probes).
Animals and cells
Ars/A1 and
Ig transgenic mice were from the laboratory of Dr. L. J. Wysocki (University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO) (5). Ship1/ mice and control Ship1+/+ littermates were generated as the F1 progeny of Ship1+/ mice on a C57BL/6J background (20). Bone marrow was prepared by flushing the femurs with IMDM and depleting the erythrocytes. Cells were used ex vivo immediately or were first cultured for 6 days at 5 x 105 cells/ml per 10-cm dish with antibiotics, 10% FBS (HyClone), and 50100 U of IL-7.
Calcium mobilization
For measurements of intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i), 106 cells/ml in IMDM were loaded with Indo-AM (Molecular Probes), and stimulated with F(ab')2 anti-IgM Ab or SDF-1 as previously described (21). Mean [Ca2+]i was evaluated over time using a flow cytometer (LSR; BD Biosciences) with appended data acquisition software (FlowJo).
Immunoblotting analysis
Cells were harvested, resuspended in IMDM at 3 x 107/ml, stimulated with 20 µg/ml F(ab')2 anti-IgM for 20 min, and lysed in 1% Nonidet P-40 lysis buffer. Cleared cell lysates (3 x 107 cell equivalents/ml/sample) were immunoprecipitated with 10 µg polyclonal anti-SHIP1 and 10 µl of protein A-Sepharose beads for 23 h at 4°C. Washed beads were eluted by boiling in Laemmli sample buffer, separated by 10% SDS-PAGE, and transferred to a polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Millipore). After blocking, polyvinylidene difluoride membranes were blotted with the indicated Ab and binding was detected using the ECL blotting system (Amersham Biosciences). In some cases, the membranes were stripped to remove the Ab and subjected to sequential blotting with other Abs.
Measurement of immature B cell migration
Quantitative chemotaxis assays were performed as described previously (22). In some cases, cells were prestimulated for 1 h with hen egg lysozyme (HEL) Ag or F(ab')2 of an anti-IgM prior assay of migration. For these studies, one million cells were put into the upper chamber with SDF-1 in the lower chamber. Chemotaxis toward SDF-1 was assessed after 3 h. Cells migrating to the lower chamber were counted for 30 s at 60 µl/min on a FACScan cytometer. One hundred percent migration was obtained by counting cells added directly to the lower chamber. For studies of the migration of immediately ex vivo cells, RBC-depleted bone marrow cells were stained with Cy5-conjugated Fab of anti-IgM (clone b-7-6) and intact anti-IgD-PE to distinguish immature B cells (membrane (m)IgM+mIgD). For all other experiments cells were cultured for 6 days in IL-7. Immature B cells in these cultures were identified by staining with Fabs of the anti-µ mAb b-7-6. These cultures contained <5% mIgD+ cells.
Cell surface staining
To analyze cell surface expression of CXCR4, propagated immature B cells were stained with biotinylated anti-CXCR4 Ab and FITC-conjugated streptavidin.
Adoptive transfer and homing of immature B cells
Propagated immature MD4 B cells were either left untreated or stimulated with 2 µg/ml HEL overnight. MD4, 3-83µ
, or Ars/A1 cells were subsequently washed and labeled using 2 µM CFMDA (1 h) and injected (107 cells) i.v. into the tail veins of congenic recipients that had been sublethally irradiated (400 rads) 3 days prior. Bone marrow was harvested 0.5 - 6.5 h posttransfer, RBCs were lysed, and CFMDA+ cells were enumerated by flow cytometry.
| Results and Discussion |
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To determine the effect of anergy on SDF-1 induced chemotaxis of immature B cells, we studied immediately ex vivo anergic bone marrow B cells from the Ars/A1 mouse. As shown in Fig. 1A, the migration of mIgM+mIgD cells to SDF-1 was reduced at least 80% relative to wild-type C57BL/6J. Nonautoreactive immature B cells from Ars/A1
-chain-only transgenic (
) (5) and 3-83µ
(specific for H-2Kk)) (23) Ig transgenic mice migrated normally.
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-chain. To determine whether acute Ag stimulation had the same inhibitory effect, propagated B cells from MD4 anti-HEL transgenic mice (24) were stimulated with HEL for 1 h before exposure to SDF-1. Fig. 2B demonstrates that acute Ag stimulation also blocks SDF-1-induced migration. Finally, propagated immature B cells from an unrelated nonautoreactive transgenic mouse, 3-83µ
, were rendered significantly less responsive to SDF-1 by acute stimulation with F(ab')2 anti-IgM.
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immature B cells. However, further increases in stimulus caused a significant inhibition of B cell migration. In comparison, immature MD4 B cell migration was inhibited by Ag at all concentrations used. These results indicate that acute as well as chronic BCR signaling inhibits subsequent migration of immature B cells toward SDF-1. Anergic and acutely Ag-stimulated immature B cells display impaired localization in the bone marrow following adoptive transfer
We then used a similar adoptive transfer strategy described by Reif et al. (3) to determine whether BCR signals affect the retention of immature B cells to the bone marrow compartment. IL-7-propagated MD4 cells were either stimulated with HEL or left untreated, labeled with CFMDA (Cell Tracker Green), and transferred into recipient mice. Ag (HEL) stimulation caused a >90% reduction in the number of labeled B cells that could be recovered from the bone marrow of recipient animals (Fig. 2). A time course analysis revealed that most cells enter the bone marrow within 5 h of transfer; therefore, the remainder of adoptive transfer recipients were examined at this time point. As shown in Fig. 2B, fewer anergic immature Ars/A1 B cells homed than did unstimulated 3-83µ
or MD4 B cells. Thus, both chronic and acute Ag stimulation inhibits immature B cell migration toward SDF-1 and retention in the bone marrow compartment.
Anergic immature B cells display impaired SDF-1 signaling despite normal expression of CXCR4
To begin to address the mechanisms by which BCR signals affect CXCR4 signaling in immature B cells, we tested whether BCR signals modulate CXCR4 expression. We compared levels of CXCR4 on IL-7-propagated B cells from autoreactive Ars/A1 cells and
transgenic controls. We also examined CXCR4 levels on immature MD4 and 3-83 cells following acute BCR stimulation. In all cases, Ag receptor stimulation had no detectable effect on surface CXCR4 expression (Fig. 3A). We conclude that, consistent with the findings of King et al. (12), BCR stimulation does not affect SDF-1-induced cell migration by down-modulation of CXCR4.
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transgenic immature B cells responded robustly to both stimuli. Thus, immature anergic B cells are hyporesponsive to SDF-1 despite normal CXCR4 expression. BCR-mediated inhibition of SDF-1-induced migration requires SHIP1
The results discussed above indicate that BCR signals block the CXCR4 signaling cascade upstream from calcium mobilization. Because SDF-1 induced calcium mobilization and directed migration require continuous PIP3 generation (25), and Ag surrogate stimulates phosphorylation and activation of the Src homology domain 2-containing inositol 5-phosphatase SHIP1 (15) (Fig. 4A), we explored the role of SHIP1 in this effect.
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An encounter of newly emerged immature B cells with cognate Ag in the bone marrow can lead to anergy. The results presented in this study indicate that BCR signals that induce and maintain anergy in immature B cells also disrupt CXCR4 signaling via the activation of SHIP1. BCR signals do not inhibit SDF-1-induced cell migration in SHIP1-deficient B cells. This is consistent with the fact that chemokine receptor-mediated signaling responses are dependent on PIP3 (17).
SHIP1 has been implicated previously in the regulation of cell migration. The initial characterization of SHIP1-deficient animals revealed massive spontaneous leukocyte infiltration into a host of organs (20). Further studies have demonstrated that splenocytes from SHIP1-deficient animals display enhanced chemokine-induced cell migration (22). Although SHIP1 appears to inhibit migration, no clear interaction between SHIP1 and chemokine receptors has ever been reported. Our findings indicate, however, that SHIP1 activated by Ag stimulation functions in trans to modulate responses to CXCL12.
Recent studies have demonstrated that B cell development depends on supportive bone marrow stromal cell niches that provide SDF-1 and IL-7 (8). Reduced CXCR4 signaling may result in premature emigration of cells to anatomical niches that lack important trophic factors needed for development. BCR-mediated inhibition of CXCR4 signals may therefore trigger premature egress of immature B cells from protective niches in the bone marrow.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Disclosures |
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| Footnotes |
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1 This work was supported by National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Grant DK047121-11. J.C.C. is an Ida and Cecil Green endowed Professor of Cell Biology. ![]()
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. John C. Cambier, Department of Immunology, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver CO 80206. E-mail address: cambierj{at}njc.org ![]()
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: SDF-1, stromal cell-derived factor-1; HEL, hen egg lysozyme; mIg, membrane Ig; PIP3, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate; ![]()
Received for publication August 4, 2006. Accepted for publication January 10, 2007.
| References |
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chemotaxis and promotes protein kinase C (PKC)-induced internalization of CXCR4. J. Exp. Med. 189: 1461-1466.
-chemokine, stromal cell-derived factor-1
, binds to the transmembrane G-protein-coupled CXCR-4 receptor and activates multiple signal transduction pathways. J. Biol. Chem. 273: 23169-23175.
and p110
, in lymphocyte chemotaxis and homing. J. Immunol. 173: 2236-2240.
RIIB1-effector interactions and inhibitory functions. J. Immunol. 164: 631-638.
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