B220 is expressed on apoptotic thymocytes induced by X-irradiation

Inhibition of the antibody production by acetaminophen independent of liver injury in mice

The causal relationship between the inhibition of antibody production and liver injury induced by single doses of acetaminophen (APAP) was investigated in mice. The liver injury and antibody production were evaluated using the serum transaminase activity and the number of antibody forming cells against sheep red blood cells (SRBC), respectively. The relevance of APAP hepatotoxicity with inhibiting antibody production was elucidated in fasted and fed mice treated with a single oral administration of APAP. In fasted mice, the oral administration of APAP produced serious liver injury, while it was not the case in the fed mice. As the antibody production was measured under these conditions, APAP significantly depressed the antibody production in fed mice as well as in fasted mice. The rate of B220 positive cells in the splenocytes was significantly decreased by APAP administration in both the fasted and fed mice. Splenocytes proliferative responses following mitogenic stimulation with concanavalin A or lipopolysaccharide were inhibited by APAP. Moreover, APAP added directly to the splenocyte culture also inhibited the in vitro antibody-producing response to SRBC. These findings indicate that the APAP-induced depression of antibody production may not be a secondary response to APAP-hepatitis, but may be a primary response to APAP.

Presence of B220 within thymocytes and its expression on the cell surface during apoptosis

B220 is the full-length splicing isoform of a tyrosine phosphatase CD45 and is predominantly expressed as a transmembrane protein on B cells. Other splicing isoforms of CD45 are yielded by alternative splicing of exons 4, 5 and 6. Recently, the expression of B220 on peripheral T cells during activation-induced cell death has been reported. To investigate whether B220 is implicated in apoptosis of immature T cells, we analysed (by flow cytometry using the anti-B220 monoclonal antibody, RA3-6B2) the expression of B220 on mouse thymocytes undergoing X-irradiation- and dexamethasone (DEX)-induced apoptosis. The expression of B220 on thymocytes positive for Thy-1 was induced by X-irradiation or DEX treatment and increased with length of incubation. The expression of B220 was pronounced on the apoptotic hypodiploid cells in the fraction showing lower forward scattering values. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction detected mRNA containing exons 4, 5 and 6 of CD45 in normal thymocytes as well as those exposed to X-rays or DEX. Surprisingly, cytoplasmic B220 antigens were detected in a considerable fraction of normal thymocytes. Moreover, the expression level of the 220 000-MW protein in normal thymocytes was similar to that in the thymocytes undergoing apoptosis. During apoptosis, the expression level of B220 antigen was reduced in the cytoplasm but, conversely, up-regulated on the surface of thymocytes. These results suggest that B220 is constitutively expressed as a cytoplasmic form within thymocytes and possibly translocated to the cell membrane during apoptosis.