PP4 Is Essential for Germinal Center Formation and Class Switch Recombination in Mice |
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Authors: | Ming-Yu Chen Ya-Ping Chen Ming-Sian Wu Guanni-Yi Yu Wen-Jye Lin Tse-Hua Tan Yu-Wen Su |
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Affiliation: | 1. Immunology Research Center, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli County, Taiwan.; 2. National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli County, Taiwan.; 3. Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America.; Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), Canada, |
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Abstract: | PP4 is a serine/threonine phosphatase required for immunoglobulin (Ig) VDJ recombination and pro-B/pre-B cell development in mice. To elucidate the role of PP4 in mature B cells, we ablated the catalytic subunit of murine PP4 invivo utilizing the CD23 promoter and cre-loxP recombination and generated CD23crePP4F/F mice. The development of follicular and marginal zone B cells was unaffected in these mutants, but the proliferation of mature PP4-deficient B cells stimulated by invitro treatment with either anti-IgM antibody (Ab) or LPS was partially impaired. Interestingly, the induction of CD80 and CD86 expression on these stimulated B cells was normal. Basal levels of serum Igs of all isotypes were strongly reduced in CD23crePP4F/F mice, and their B cells showed a reduced efficiency of class switch recombination (CSR) invitro upon stimulation by LPS or LPS plus IL-4. When CD23crePP4F/F mice were challenged with either the T cell-dependent antigen TNP-KLH or the T cell-independent antigen TNP-Ficoll, or by H1N1 virus infection, the mutant animals failed to form germinal centers (GCs) in the spleen and the draining mediastinal lymph nodes, and did not efficiently mount antigen-specific humoral responses. In the resting state, PP4-deficient B cells exhibited pre-existing DNA fragmentation. Upon stimulation by DNA-damaging drug etoposide invitro, mutant B cells showed increased cleavage of caspase 3. In addition, the mutant B cells displayed impaired CD40-mediated MAPK activation, abnormal IgM-mediated NF-κB activation, and reduced S phase entry upon IgM/CD40-stimulation. Taken together, our results establish a novel role for PP4 in CSR, and reveal crucial functions for PP4 in the maintenance of genomic stability, GC formation, and B cell-mediated immune responses. |
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