Decision criteria for resolving isotype switching conflicts by B cells

✍ Scribed by Elissa K. Deenick; Jhagvaral Hasbold; Philip D. Hodgkin

• Book ID: 102168656
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 243 KB
• Volume: 35
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.200425719

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Isotype switching by B cells is highly regulated by a group of cytokines including IL‐4, IFN‐γ and TGF‐β. A B cell can only express one isotype at a time; however, during an immune response it may be exposed to combinations of stimuli that provide it with conflicting switching instructions. To determine how such cytokine‐induced isotype switch conflicts would be resolved, the responses of B cells exposed to multiple cytokines were investigated. To eliminate complications arising from simultaneous effects of switching cytokines on proliferation, division number was used as a reference framework to monitor switching rate. The results show a clear hierarchy in which IFN‐γ is dominant over IL‐4, and both IL‐4 and IFN‐γ are dominant over TGF‐β. These studies reveal how B cells possess a set of logical decision criteria for dealing with pathogens that invoke a range of different stimuli.