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International Immunology Advance Access published online on May 13, 2007
International Immunology, doi:10.1093/intimm/dxm048
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© The Japanese Society for Immunology. 2007. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Suppression of B lymphopoiesis at a lymphoid progenitor stage in adult rabbits

Susan L. Kalis1, Shi-Kang Zhai1, Pi-Chen Yam1, Pamela L. Witte2 and Katherine L. Knight1

1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology
2 Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, 2160 South First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, USA

Correspondence to: Correspondence to: K. L. Knight; E-mail: kknight{at}lumc.edu

B lymphopoiesis in rabbits is robust early in ontogeny, but is arrested by 16 weeks of age at which time no proB or preB cells are found in bone marrow (BM). To determine if BM cells from adults retain B lymphopoietic potential, we transferred BM from adult green fluorescent protein (gfp) transgenic rabbits into young rabbits. We found gfp+ preB cells arising in the young recipients, indicating that BM cells from adults can differentiate into B cell precursors. We identified a population of MHCII–IL-7-binding BM cells in adults that collectively expresses Tdt, EBF and Pax5—genes known to be expressed in murine lymphoid progenitors. Upon co-culture with OP9 or OP9 delta-like 1+ stromal cells, we found that these cells both expanded in number and differentiated into B and T cell precursors, respectively, showing that early lymphoid progenitors, designated rLP for rabbit lymphoid progenitors, are present within the MHCII–IL-7-binding BM cell population. Further, IL-7 was required for rLPs to expand and differentiate into B cell precursors in vitro. The arrest of B lymphopoiesis in adults, however, is not likely due to the absence of IL-7, because the level of IL-7 transcripts was higher in BM from adults than in young rabbits. B lymphopoiesis was re-initiated in adults after sub-lethal irradiation as shown by the reappearance of B cell precursors and the presence of B cell receptor excision circles in BM. We conclude that B lymphopoiesis in adults is suppressed at a lymphoid progenitor stage (MHCII–IL-7 binding) of development.

Keywords: B cell development, IL-7

Transmitting editor: P. Kincade

Received 18 October 2006, accepted 23 March 2007.


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