Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 440-746, Republic of Korea.
Immunol Lett. 2013 Nov-Dec;156(1-2):38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2013.09.004. Epub 2013 Sep 9.
CD138, known as a marker of plasma cells, was reported to be expressed to an intermediate level in the murine bone marrow precursor B cells. Here an intermediate level of CD138 expression was also noted in a subpopulation of splenic follicular B cells, which were distinguishable from CD138(high) plasma cells, whereas the majority of transitional or marginal zone B cells did not express CD138. These CD138(int) B cells were IgM(low)IgD(high) mature B cells, located within follicular B cell zone, and expressed a lower level of CD21 than CD138(-) follicular B cells. During in vitro culture of splenic cells, the proportion of CD138(int) B cells increased, which was noticeably reversed by the addition of IL-4 to the culture. The experiments with sorted CD138(int) cells showed that IL-4-mediated regulation of the CD138 expression was B cell-intrinsic and independent of in vitro B cell death. Our results demonstrate that mouse CD138(int) B cells characterize a subpopulation of IgM(low)IgD(high) mature follicular B cells. The CD138 expression on follicular B cells may represent a reversible status, reflecting a dynamic state probably influenced by IL-4.
CD138 被称为浆细胞的标志物，据报道在小鼠骨髓前体 B 细胞中呈中等水平表达。在这里，在脾滤泡 B 细胞的一个亚群中也观察到 CD138 的中等表达水平，这些细胞与 CD138（高）浆细胞不同，而大多数过渡或边缘区 B 细胞不表达 CD138。这些 CD138（int）B 细胞是 IgM（低）IgD（高）成熟 B 细胞，位于滤泡 B 细胞区，并且表达比 CD138（-）滤泡 B 细胞更低水平的 CD21。在脾细胞的体外培养中，CD138（int）B 细胞的比例增加，而在培养物中添加 IL-4 可明显逆转这种情况。用分选的 CD138（int）细胞进行的实验表明，IL-4 介导的 CD138 表达调节是 B 细胞内在的，并且独立于体外 B 细胞死亡。我们的结果表明，小鼠 CD138（int）B 细胞代表 IgM（低）IgD（高）成熟滤泡 B 细胞的一个亚群。滤泡 B 细胞上的 CD138 表达可能代表一种可逆状态，反映了可能受 IL-4 影响的动态状态。
