Khomtchouk K, Alter S, Ratliff M, Blomberg BB, Riley RL. In old BALB/c mice, bone marrow pre-B cell and surrogate light chain reduction is associated with increased B cell reactivity to phosphorylcholine, but reduced
T15 idiotype dominance.
Mech Ageing Dev 2017;
162:53-62. [PMID:
27876385 DOI:
10.1016/j.mad.2016.11.004]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2016] [Revised: 10/12/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In young adult BALB/c mice, antibodies to phosphorylcholine (PC) bearing the T15 (TEPC 15) idiotype confer protection against pneumococcal infections. In old age, even though PC reactive B cells are often increased, the proportion of T15+ antibodies declines. We hypothesize that limited surrogate light chain (SLC) and compromise of the pre-B cell receptor checkpoint in old mice contribute to both reduced new B cell generation and changes in the anti-PC antibodies seen in old age. In old mice: 1) early pre-B cell loss is most pronounced at the preBCR checkpoint; however, the reduced pool of early pre-B cells continues to proliferate consistent with preBCR signaling; 2) increased PC reactivity is seen in bone marrow immature B cells; 3) deficient SLC promotes increased B cell PC reactivity and diminished T15 idiotype expression; and 4) as pre-B cell losses and reduced SLC become progressively more severe, increased T15 negative PC reactive B cells occur. These results associate a reduction in pre-B cells, imposed at the preBCR checkpoint, with increased reactivity to PC, but more limited expression of the protective T15 idiotype among PC reactive antibodies in old age.
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