Homeostasis of Peripheral B Cells in the Absence of B Cell Influx from the Bone Marrow
Open Access
- 15 October 2001
- journal article
- Published by Rockefeller University Press in The Journal of Experimental Medicine
- Vol. 194 (8), 1151-1164
- https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.194.8.1151
Abstract
To study homeostasis of peripheral B lymphocytes in the absence of B cell influx from the bone marrow, we generated a mouse mutant in which the recombination-activating gene (RAG)-2 can be inducibly deleted. When RAG-2 was deleted at the age of 8–10 wk, splenic naive follicular B cells were gradually lost over a year of observation, with a half-life of ∼4.5 mo. By contrast, the pool of marginal zone B cells in the spleen and of B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity were kept at normal level. In lymph nodes, ∼90% of the B cells were lost within 4 mo, and B cell numbers remained constant thereafter. Mice in which RAG-2 was deleted at birth maintained a small population of activated B cells with an increased proportion of marginal zone B cells. Additionally, an increase of the pool of IgM secreting cells and B-1a cells was observed.Keywords
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