Naive B Cells with High-Avidity Germline-Encoded Antigen Receptors Produce Persistent IgM+ and Transient IgG+ Memory B Cells

Publication date: 19 June 2018

Source: Immunity, Volume 48, Issue 6

Author(s): Kathryn A. Pape, Robert W. Maul, Thamotharampillai Dileepan, Amanda Schmidt Paustian, Patricia J. Gearhart, Marc K. Jenkins

Summary

Although immune memory often lasts for life, this is not the case for certain vaccines in some individuals. We sought a mechanism for this phenomenon by studying B cell responses to phycoerythrin (PE). PE immunization of mouse strains with Igh^b immunoglobulin (Ig) variable heavy chain (V_H) genes elicited affinity-matured switched Ig memory B cells that declined with time, while the comparable population from an Igh^a strain was numerically stable. Igh^b strains had larger numbers of PE-specific naive B cells and generated smaller germinal center responses and larger numbers of IgM memory cells than the Igh^a strain. The properties of PE-specific B cells in Igh^b mice correlated with usage of a single V_H that afforded high-affinity PE binding in its germline form. These results suggest that some individuals may be genetically predisposed to generate non-canonical memory B cell responses to certain antigens because of avid antigen binding via germline-encoded V_H elements.

Graphical Abstract

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