Plasmodium-specific atypical memory B cells are short-lived activated B cells
- The Francis Crick Institute, United Kingdom
- MRC National Institute for Medical Research, United Kingdom
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States
- University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Abstract
A subset of atypical memory B cells accumulates in malaria and several infections, autoimmune disorders and aging in both humans and mice. It has been suggested these cells are exhausted long-lived memory B cells, and their accumulation may contribute to poor acquisition of long-lasting immunity to certain chronic infections, such as malaria and HIV. Here, we generated an immunoglobulin heavy chain knock-in mouse with a BCR that recognizes MSP1 of the rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium chabaudi. In combination with a mosquito-initiated P. chabaudi infection, we show that Plasmodium-specific atypical memory B cells are short-lived and disappear upon natural resolution of chronic infection. These cells show features of activation, proliferation, DNA replication, and plasmablasts. Our data demonstrate that Plasmodium-specific atypical memory B cells are not a subset of long-lived memory B cells, but rather short-lived activated cells, and part of a physiologic ongoing B-cell response.
Data availability
RNAseq transcriptome data have been deposited in GEO under accession code GSE115155.
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Plasmodium-specific atypical memory B cells are short-lived activated B cellsNCBI Gene Expression Omnibus, GSE115155.
Article and author information
Author details
Damian Pérez-Mazliah
Victor LJ Tybulewicz
Funding
Medical Research Council (FC001101)
- Jean Langhorne
Wellcome (FC001101)
- Jean Langhorne
Cancer Research UK (FC001101)
- Jean Langhorne
National Institutes of Health (AI110553)
- Randall S Davis
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: The study was carried out in accordance with the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, Home Office license 80/2538 and 70/8326. Was approved by the MRC National Institute for Medical Research Ethical Committee, The Francis Crick Institute Ethical Committee, and further approved by the Home Office of the UK upon granting of the HO license.
Reviewing Editor
- Facundo D Batista, Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, United States
Version history
- Received: July 4, 2018
- Accepted: October 31, 2018
- Accepted Manuscript published: November 2, 2018 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: November 19, 2018 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2018, Pérez-Mazliah et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Plasmodium-specific atypical memory B cells are short-lived activated B cells
eLife 7:e39800.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.39800
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