Regulation of bifurcating B cell trajectories by mutual antagonism between transcription factors IRF4 and IRF8.
TL;DR: A double-negative feedback loop between the transcription factors IRF4 and IRF8 that regulated the initial developmental bifurcation of activated B cells as well as the GC response is identified.
Abstract: Upon recognition of antigen, B cells undertake a bifurcated response in which some cells rapidly differentiate into plasmablasts while others undergo affinity maturation in germinal centers (GCs). Here we identified a double-negative feedback loop between the transcription factors IRF4 and IRF8 that regulated the initial developmental bifurcation of activated B cells as well as the GC response. IRF8 dampened signaling via the B cell antigen receptor (BCR), facilitated antigen-specific interaction with helper T cells, and promoted antibody affinity maturation while antagonizing IRF4-driven differentiation of plasmablasts. Genomic analysis revealed concentration-dependent actions of IRF4 and IRF8 in regulating distinct gene-expression programs. Stochastic modeling suggested that the double-negative feedback was sufficient to initiate bifurcation of the B cell developmental trajectories.
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TL;DR: A distinct differentiation fate of autoreactive naive B cells into PC precursors with hyper‐responsiveness to innate stimuli is defined as well as establishes prominence of extra‐follicular B cell activation in SLE, and identifies therapeutic targets.
537 citations
TL;DR: The phenotype and transcriptional program of a subset of antigen-specific B cells, which are called 'activated B cells' (ABCs), that were distinct from ASCs and were committed to the MBC lineage are defined.
Abstract: Antigen-specific B cells bifurcate into antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) and memory B cells (MBCs) after infection or vaccination. ASCs (plasmablasts) have been extensively studied in humans, but less is known about B cells that become activated but do not differentiate into plasmablasts. Here we have defined the phenotype and transcriptional program of a subset of antigen-specific B cells, which we have called 'activated B cells' (ABCs), that were distinct from ASCs and were committed to the MBC lineage. We detected ABCs in humans after infection with Ebola virus or influenza virus and also after vaccination. By simultaneously analyzing antigen-specific ASCs and ABCs in human blood after vaccination against influenza virus, we investigated the clonal overlap and extent of somatic hypermutation (SHM) in the ASC (effector) and ABC (memory) lineages. Longitudinal tracking of vaccination-induced hemagglutinin (HA)-specific clones revealed no overall increase in SHM over time, which suggested that repeated annual immunization might have limitations in enhancing the quality of influenza-virus-specific antibody.
289 citations
TL;DR: A regulatory program underpinning the neonatal regenerative state is defined and alterations in the chromatin landscape that could limit reinduction of the regenerative program in adult cardiomyocytes are identified.
Abstract: Background: The inability of the adult mammalian heart to regenerate following injury represents a major barrier in cardiovascular medicine. In contrast, the neonatal mammalian heart retains a transient capacity for regeneration, which is lost shortly after birth. Defining the molecular mechanisms that govern regenerative capacity in the neonatal period remains a central goal in cardiac biology. Here, we assemble a transcriptomic framework of multiple cardiac cell populations during postnatal development and following injury, which enables comparative analyses of the regenerative (neonatal) versus nonregenerative (adult) state for the first time. Methods: Cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, leukocytes, and endothelial cells from infarcted and noninfarcted neonatal (P1) and adult (P56) mouse hearts were isolated by enzymatic dissociation and fluorescence-activated cell sorting at day 3 following surgery. RNA sequencing was performed on these cell populations to generate the transcriptome of the major cardiac cell populations during cardiac development, repair, and regeneration. To complement our transcriptomic data, we also surveyed the epigenetic landscape of cardiomyocytes during postnatal maturation by performing deep sequencing of accessible chromatin regions by using the Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin from purified mouse cardiomyocyte nuclei (P1, P14, and P56). Results: Profiling of cardiomyocyte and nonmyocyte transcriptional programs uncovered several injury-responsive genes across regenerative and nonregenerative time points. However, the majority of transcriptional changes in all cardiac cell types resulted from developmental maturation from neonatal stages to adulthood rather than activation of a distinct regeneration-specific gene program. Furthermore, adult leukocytes and fibroblasts were characterized by the expression of a proliferative gene expression network following infarction, which mirrored the neonatal state. In contrast, cardiomyocytes failed to reactivate the neonatal proliferative network following infarction, which was associated with loss of chromatin accessibility around cell cycle genes during postnatal maturation. Conclusions: This work provides a comprehensive framework and transcriptional resource of multiple cardiac cell populations during cardiac development, repair, and regeneration. Our findings define a regulatory program underpinning the neonatal regenerative state and identify alterations in the chromatin landscape that could limit reinduction of the regenerative program in adult cardiomyocytes.
195 citations
TL;DR: The properties of the EF B‐ cell pathway, its relationship to other effector B‐cell populations, its role in autoimmune diseases, and its contribution to human SLE are discussed.
Abstract: Chronic autoimmune diseases, and in particular Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), are endowed with a long-standing autoreactive B-cell compartment that is presumed to reactivate periodically leading to the generation of new bursts of pathogenic antibody-secreting cells (ASC). Moreover, pathogenic autoantibodies are typically characterized by a high load of somatic hypermutation and in some cases are highly stable even in the context of prolonged B-cell depletion. Long-lived, highly mutated antibodies are typically generated through T-cell-dependent germinal center (GC) reactions. Accordingly, an important role for GC reactions in the generation of pathogenic autoreactivity has been postulated in SLE. Nevertheless, pathogenic autoantibodies and autoimmune disease can be generated through B-cell extrafollicular (EF) reactions in multiple mouse models and human SLE flares are characterized by the expansion of naive-derived activated effector B cells of extrafollicular phenotype. In this review, we will discuss the properties of the EF B-cell pathway, its relationship to other effector B-cell populations, its role in autoimmune diseases, and its contribution to human SLE. Furthermore, we discuss the relationship of EF B cells with Age-Associated B cells (ABCs), a TLR-7-driven B-cell population that mediates murine autoimmune and antiviral responses.
144 citations
TL;DR: A surprising example of convergent evolution is identified in which IgE antibodies underwent identical gene rearrangements in unrelated individuals and gained high affinity and unexpected cross-reactivity to the clinically important peanut allergens Ara h 2 and Ara h 3.
Abstract: Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies protect against helminth infections but can also cause life-threatening allergic reactions. Despite their role in human health, the cells that produce these antibodies are rarely observed and remain enigmatic. We isolated single IgE B cells from individuals with food allergies and used single-cell RNA sequencing to elucidate the gene expression and splicing patterns unique to these cells. We identified a surprising example of convergent evolution in which IgE antibodies underwent identical gene rearrangements in unrelated individuals. Through the acquisition of variable region mutations, these IgE antibodies gained high affinity and unexpected cross-reactivity to the clinically important peanut allergens Ara h 2 and Ara h 3. These findings provide insight into IgE B cell transcriptomics and enable biochemical dissection of this antibody class.
139 citations
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TL;DR: Stochasticity in gene expression can provide the flexibility needed by cells to adapt to fluctuating environments or respond to sudden stresses, and a mechanism by which population heterogeneity can be established during cellular differentiation and development.
Abstract: Genetically identical cells exposed to the same environmental conditions can show significant variation in molecular content and marked differences in phenotypic characteristics. This variability is linked to stochasticity in gene expression, which is generally viewed as having detrimental effects on cellular function with potential implications for disease. However, stochasticity in gene expression can also be advantageous. It can provide the flexibility needed by cells to adapt to fluctuating environments or respond to sudden stresses, and a mechanism by which population heterogeneity can be established during cellular differentiation and development.
2,381 citations
TL;DR: The importance of the membrane form of the μ chain in B-cell development is assessed by generating mice lacking this chain by disrupting one of the membranes exons of the gene encoding the μ-chain constant region by gene targeting in mouse embryonic stem cells.
Abstract: OF the various classes of antibodies that B lymphocytes can produce, class M (IgM) is the first to be expressed on the membrane of the developing cells. Pre-B cells, the precursors of B-lymphocytes, produce the heavy chain of IgM (μ chain), but not light chains1. Recent data suggest that pre-B cells express μ chains on the membrane together with the 'surrogate' light chains λ5 and VpreB (refs 2–7). This complex could control pre-B-cell differentiation, in particular the rearrangement of the light-chain genes8. We have now assessed the importance of the membrane form of the μ chain in B-cell development by generating mice lacking this chain. We disrupted one of the membrane exons of the gene encoding the μ-chain constant region by gene targeting9 in mouse embryonic stem cells10. From these cells we derived mice heterozygous or homozygous for the mutation. B-cell development in the heterozygous mice seemed to be normal, but in homozygous animals B cells were absent, their development already being arrested at the stage of pre-B-cell maturation.
1,826 citations
TL;DR: In this article, it is shown that the chemical Langevin equation can be derived from the microphysical premise from which the chemical master equation is derived, which leads directly to an approximate time-evolution equation of the Langevin type.
Abstract: The stochastic dynamical behavior of a well-stirred mixture of N molecular species that chemically interact through M reaction channels is accurately described by the chemical master equation. It is shown here that, whenever two explicit dynamical conditions are satisfied, the microphysical premise from which the chemical master equation is derived leads directly to an approximate time-evolution equation of the Langevin type. This chemical Langevin equation is the same as one studied earlier by Kurtz, in contradistinction to some other earlier proposed forms that assume a deterministic macroscopic evolution law. The novel aspect of the present analysis is that it shows that the accuracy of the equation depends on the satisfaction of certain specific conditions that can change from moment to moment, rather than on a static system size parameter. The derivation affords a new perspective on the origin and magnitude of noise in a chemically reacting system. It also clarifies the connection between the stochas...
1,537 citations
TL;DR: The functions of these cells in both innate and adaptive immunity are discussed, and differing viewpoints regarding the generation and function of marginal zone B cells in rodents and primates are reconciled.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract Our views regarding the origins and functions of splenic marginal zone B cells have changed considerably over the past few years. Perspectives regarding the development and function of these cells vary considerably between investigators studying human and rodent immunology. Marginal zone B cells are now recognized to constitute a distinct naive B lymphoid lineage. Considerable progress has been made regarding the mechanisms involved in marginal zone B cell development in the mouse. Many of the molecular events that participate in the retention of this lineage of B cells in the marginal zone have been identified. Here, we discuss the functions of these cells in both innate and adaptive immunity. We also attempt to reconcile differing viewpoints regarding the generation and function of marginal zone B cells in rodents and primates.
809 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that foci may represent regions of predominantly interclonal competition for antigen among unmutated B cells, while germinal centers are sites of intraclonal clonal competition between mutated sister lymphocytes.
Abstract: After primary immunization with an immunogenic conjugate of (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)acetyl, two anatomically and phenotypically distinct populations of antibody-forming cells arise in the spleen. As early as 2 d after immunization, foci of antigen-binding B cells are observed along the periphery of the periarteriolar lymphoid sheaths. These foci expand, occupying as much as 1% of the splenic volume by day 8 of the response. Later, foci grow smaller and are virtually absent from the spleen by day 14. A second responding population, germinal center B cells, appear on day 8-10 and persist at least until day 16 post-immunization. Individual foci and germinal centers represent discrete pauciclonal populations that apparently undergo somatic evolution in the course of the primary response. We suggest that foci may represent regions of predominantly interclonal competition for antigen among unmutated B cells, while germinal centers are sites of intraclonal clonal competition between mutated sister lymphocytes.
736 citations