Early Growth Response-1 Plays a Non-redundant Role in the Differentiation of B Cells into Plasma Cells.
- Author:
Yeon Kyung OH
1
;
Eunkyeong JANG
;
Doo Jin PAIK
;
Jeehee YOUN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- Keywords: Egr1; B cells; Plasma cells; Differentiation; Antibody
- MeSH: Animals; Apoptosis; B-Lymphocytes*; Immunization; Immunoglobulin G; Mice; Plasma Cells*; Transcription Factors
- From:Immune Network 2015;15(3):161-166
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Early growth response (Egr)-1 is a Cys2-His2-type zincfinger transcription factor. It has been shown to induce survival and proliferation of immature and mature B cells, respectively, but its role in the differentiation of B cells into plasma cells remains unclear. To examine the effects of Egr-1 deficiency on the activation of B cells, naive B cells from Egr1-/- mice and their wild-type (WT) littermates were activated to proliferate and differentiate, and then assayed by FACS. Proportions of cells undergoing proliferation and apoptosis did not differ between Egr1-/- and WT mice. However, Egr1-/- B cells gave rise to fewer plasma cells than WT B cells. Consistently, Egr1-/- mice produced significantly lower titer of antigen-specific IgG than their WT littermates upon immunization. Our results demonstrate that Egr-1 participates in the differentiation program of B cells into plasma cells, while it is dispensable for the proliferation and survival of mature B cells.