Regulation of IgM and IgD synthesis in B lymphocytes. I. Changes in biosynthesis of mRNA for mu- and delta-chains

Although IgD is expressed on the surface of resting B cells at a higher density than IgM, we determined that both the steady-state level and the biosynthetic rate of mu m-mRNA is higher than that of delta m-mRNA, suggesting that translational or post-translational processing of the Ig heavy chains may modulate the expression of cell surface Ig. After B cell activation by LPS, delta m-mRNA decreases drastically, accounting for the observed decrease in expression of IgD. Concomitantly, a dramatic increase in the level of mu s- and gamma s-mRNA corresponds to the observed increase in secretion of these Ig isotypes in LPS-stimulated cells.     

Polyclonal activation of the murine immune system by an antibody to IgD. VIII. Stimulation of IgD secretion

The low levels of serum IgD found in mice and the lack of a typical DNA switch sequence between C delta and C mu raise the possibility that the generation of murine IgD-secreting cells results from a chance "mistake" rather than a controlled process. The recent observation that injection of mice with purified IgD upregulates IgD receptor expression on helper T cells and enhances the ability of these T cells to induce B cells to differentiate into antibody secreting cells led us to look for evidence of controlled differentiation of B cells into IgD-secreting cells. To do this, we injected mice with a goat antibody to IgD (GaM delta), because this antibody stimulates large increases in IgM, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgE secretion. Mice injected with GaM delta demonstrated a large increase in splenic content of mRNA specific for the secreted form of delta-chain, as well as a greater than 100-fold increase in the percentage of splenic IgD-containing plasmablasts. The secretory IgD response was totally T-dependent. Production of the secretory form of IgD was not seen until 7 days after GaM delta injection, and peaked sharply on day 8, whereas by day 6 IgM secretion had already peaked and IgG1 and IgG2 secretion had attained substantial levels. This observation suggests that: 1) either cells that synthesize large quantities of the secretory form of delta-chain, unlike cells that synthesize large quantities of the secretory forms of gamma-, epsilon-, or alpha-chains, do this without deleting C mu, or, despite the absence of a typical DNA switch sequence between C mu and C delta, controls must exist to effect the C mu deletion and VDJ-C delta joining; and 2) if secreted IgD has a role in the regulation of a humoral immune response it most likely is involved in later processes, such as memory cell generation or response termination, rather than in relatively early processes, such as helper T cell activation.     

Expression, distribution and specificity of Fc receptors for IgM on murine B cells

Subpopulations of normal adult murine splenic B cells and a panel of murine B cell tumors were examined for their ability to bind murine IgM specifically. By using two-color flow cytometric analyses, we have demonstrated that 90 to 95% of surface (s)IgD+ B cells express surface membrane receptors for IgM (Fc mu R). The binding of pentameric murine IgM to splenocyte Fc mu R was IgM-specific since it was totally inhibited by other polymeric IgM proteins, but not by Ig of other H chain classes or by mAb specific for the murine IgG or IgE FcR. Binding of IgM to splenic cells was saturable. Fc mu R were co-expressed with the Fc gamma R as well as the Fc epsilon R on the majority of splenic B cells. Minor populations of splenic mononuclear cells expressed only an Fc mu R, Fc gamma R or Fc epsilon R. In a survey of B tumor cell lines representing different stages of B cell development, we observed that the Fc mu R was expressed on pre-B cell lines and that Fc mu R detection was maximal on immature B cell lines that expressed sIgM and low amounts of sIgD and Ia. Fc mu R were not detected on cell lines that had switched from sIgM to the expression of another sIg, or on plasmacytomas and hybridomas. The studies with normal splenocytes establish that the majority of sIgD+ B lymphocytes in adult BALB/c mice express surface membrane receptors that specifically bind IgM. The studies with B lineage tumor cells suggest that the expression of Fc mu R on B cells is developmentally regulated and that the pattern of expression exhibited by Fc mu R during B cell ontogeny differs from the patterns that have been previously found for IgG and IgE FcR. These observations raise the possibility that Fc mu R might have a functional significance in some aspect of B cell maturation and activation. By using a family of IgM H chain constant region domain deletional mutants, we have further demonstrated that, like the T cell Fc mu R, the B cell Fc mu R also requires a C mu 3 domain for binding to occur, raising the possibility that the T and B cell Fc mu R in mice may be structurally related molecules.     

The expression of the sIgD isotype in wild-derived mice

IgD and IgM are concomitantly expressed on the surface of most mouse B lymphocytes and both molecules serve as receptor for antigen. In this communication we report that in contrast to IgM, which is expressed in a constant manner on the surface of spleen B lymphocytes of different laboratory and wild-derived mice, IgD expression is variable among the spleen cells of wild-derived mice. SPE, SEI, and SFM mice belonging to the Mus 3 subgroup show a fluorescence profile characterized by a marked diminution in the population of B lymphocytes expressing the IgD isotype; in addition, these cells have a low sIgD density on their membranes. These findings were confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the iodinated membrane proteins. Polyclonal in vitro activation with lipopolysaccharide increases the frequency of surface IgD (sIgD)-bearing spleen cells and sIgD density in the SPE strain but decreases both the frequency and the density of IgD bearing cells in the BALB/c strain. This result suggests that delta gene expression is regulated differently in SPE and BALB/c mice. In addition, genetic analysis of sIgD expression in (BALB/c X SPE)F1 hybrids suggests that the proportion of sIgD-bearing cells and sIgD density are independently regulated.     

Regulation of IgM and IgD synthesis in B lymphocytes. II. Translational and post-translational events

Studies investigating the relative rates of biosynthesis of mu- and delta-polypeptide chains in normal resting B lymphocytes have shown that the translation rate of mu m is about sevenfold higher than that of delta m, thus reflecting the relative abundance of mRNA encoding these two chains. The turnover rate of cell surface IgM is faster, however, than that of cell surface IgD, resulting in higher expression of cell surface IgD relative to IgM under steady state conditions. LPS stimulation of B lymphocytes induces the complete cessation of synthesis of the delta-chain, thus accounting for the gradual disappearance of IgD from the cell surface of activated cells.     

A selective defect in IgM antigen receptor synthesis and transport causes loss of cell surface IgM expression on tolerant B lymphocytes.

To explore the biochemical basis for maintaining immunological tolerance by functional inactivation of self-reactive B lymphocytes, transgenic mice carrying rearranged anti-lysozyme immunoglobulin transgenes and a lysozyme transgene were used as a source of large numbers of tolerant self-reactive B cells. Antigen receptors of the IgD isotype were expressed at normal levels on tolerant B cells, contained the heterodimeric MB1/B29 signalling component of the receptor complex and were structurally indistinguishable from IgD on nontolerant B cells. In contrast, cell surface expression of IgM receptor complexes on tolerant B cells was greatly reduced, despite normal expression of mRNA encoding the receptor components. Three-fold fewer immunoreactive mu heavy chains were detectable after a short period of biosynthetic labelling and the immunoreactive mu chains produced were paired with kappa light chains and assembled normally into intact receptor complexes containing the MB1/B29 heterodimer. Nascent IgM receptor complexes nevertheless failed to be processed into an endoglycosidase H-resistant form in the tolerant B cells and thus appeared to be selectively blocked in their transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the medial Golgi. These findings demonstrate that intracellular trafficking of antigen receptor complexes is regulated by exposure to receptor stimuli at the cell surface causing a long-lasting decrease in surface receptor expression on tolerant B cells.     

Extinction of B-cell surface differentiation markers in hybrids between murine B-lymphoma and myeloma cells

Fusion between murine B-lymphoma cells bearing membrane IgM with either IgG or light chain secreting myeloma, resulted in cell hybrids synthesizing and secreting large quantities of IgM. In contrast, the hybrids did not secrete IgD even though it is also present on the surface of the B-lymphoma cells. B-Cell surface markers such as the IgM, IgD, Ia and the Fc receptor, which were present on the B-lymphoma cells, but not the myeloma cells were not expressed on the surface of the hybrids. Hybrids which secrete IgM and retain the B-cell membrane differentiation antigens were not detected, even when selection was done under conditions which favor the growth of the lymphoma parental cells.     

Characterization of a B cell defect in the NZB mouse manifested by an increased ratio of surface IgM to IgD.

In an effort to define the cellular basis of abnormalities in polyclonal B cell activation previously noted in NZB mice, the surface immunoglobulin (sIg) isotypes of spleen cells from NZB mice were examined. After lactoperoxidase-catalyzed radioiodination, the cell surface immunoglobulins were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Spleen cells from 8- to 10-week-old NZB mice were found to have an increased ratio of cell surface IgM/IgD compared to cells from 11 control strains. The altered ratio of sIg isotypes was not a consequence of increased proteolytic activity present in NZB cell suspensions or of the presence of cytophilic antibody or autoantibody. Ontogenetic studies of the sIgM/sIgD (mu/delta) ration on splenocytes from NZB and BALB/c mice revealed that the former cells had higher mu/delta ratios as early as 2 weeks after birth. By 4 weeks of age the mu/delta ratios were equivalent. Between 4 weeks and 1 year of age, the mu/delta ratios on NZB splenocytes remained constant whereas those on BALB/c splenocytes decreased and reached adult levels at 6 weeks.     

Inappropriate expression of IgD from a transgene inhibits the function of antigen-specific memory B cells

IgD expression has been shown to be downmodulated upon mitogenic or antigenic activation of B cells. To investigate whether this decrease is of functional significance we studied a mouse strain that expresses transgenic IgD on all B cells. The rearranged gene encoding the heavy chain of this IgD requires endogenous gene rearrangement before it can be expressed; therefore, normal B cell development is not affected. As a result, both transgenic IgD and endogenous IgM and IgD are expressed on all peripheral B cells. We show that the presence of extraneous IgD does not affect normal B cell activation by polyclonal stimulators, nor does it affect the primary IgM or IgG responses to TI or TD antigens. However, the secondary memory response is significantly diminished. The decrease is not attributable to a defective generation of memory B cells; instead the activation of memory cells appears to be compromised. Since the depressed response can be overcome by prior aggregation of the transgenic IgD with allotype-specific anti-IgD antibodies, it appears that persistence of the transgenic IgD on memory cells may influence their ability to be activated. Thus, the decrease in IgD expression on normal B cells after activation may be necessary for optimal activation of memory cells.     

IL-4 induces the specific rearrangement of gamma 1 genes on the expressed and unexpressed chromosomes of lipopolysaccharide-activated normal murine B cells

Small, resting, surface IgM+/surface IgD+ murine B cells undergo an Ig class switch to IgG1 or IgE after stimulation with LPS and T cell supernatants containing IL-4. To firmly establish the role of IL-4 in the directed switch recombination observed in IgG1-secreting cells, we have 1) used highly purified native IL-4 instead of T cell supernatants, 2) used resting B cells from F1 mice in which the active IgH allele was determined before culture, 3) taken advantage of the allelic differences in the restriction fragment lengths of mu, gamma 1, gamma 2b, and gamma 3 loci to determine the status of the CH genes on both the expressed and unexpressed chromosomes, and 4) used different restriction enzymes to distinguish between deletion and rearrangement of a given CH gene. Our results indicate that LPS alone induces rearrangement of the gamma 3 genes on both chromosomes whereas stimulation with LPS plus IL-4 results in deletion of gamma 3 genes and rearrangement of gamma 1 genes on both chromosomes. The studies definitively establish the role of IL-4 in directed switch recombination to the gamma 1 locus in LPS-stimulated murine B cells.