FcμR interacts and cooperates with the B cell receptor To promote B cell survival

R Ouchida, Q Lu, J Liu, Y Li, Y Chu… - The Journal of …, 2015 - journals.aai.org
R Ouchida, Q Lu, J Liu, Y Li, Y Chu, T Tsubata, JY Wang
The Journal of Immunology, 2015journals.aai.org
Abstract The IgM FcR (FcμR) promotes B cell survival, but the molecular mechanism
remains largely unknown. We show using FcμR−/− and wild-type mice that FcμR specifically
enhanced B cell survival induced by BCR cross-linking with F (ab′) 2-anti-IgM Abs while
having no effect on survival when the B cells were activated by CD40 ligation or LPS
stimulation. FcμR expression was markedly upregulated by anti-IgM stimulation, which may
promote enhanced FcμR signaling in these cells. Immunofluorescence and confocal …
Abstract
The IgM FcR (FcμR) promotes B cell survival, but the molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. We show using FcμR−/− and wild-type mice that FcμR specifically enhanced B cell survival induced by BCR cross-linking with F (ab′) 2-anti-IgM Abs while having no effect on survival when the B cells were activated by CD40 ligation or LPS stimulation. FcμR expression was markedly upregulated by anti-IgM stimulation, which may promote enhanced FcμR signaling in these cells. Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy analyses demonstrated that FcμR colocalized with the BCR on the plasma membrane of primary B cells. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis further revealed that FcμR physically interacted with the BCR complex. Because NF-κB plays a prominent role in B cell survival, we analyzed whether FcμR was involved in BCR-triggered NF-κB activation. FcμR did not affect BCR-triggered IκBα phosphorylation characteristic of the canonical NF-κB activation pathway but promoted the production of the noncanonical NF-κB pathway component p52. Consistent with the elevated p52 levels, FcμR enhanced BCR-triggered expression of the antiapoptotic protein BCL-xL. Importantly, FcμR stimulation alone in the absence of BCR signaling had no effect on either IκBα phosphorylation or the expression of p52 and BCL-xL. Therefore, FcμR relied on the BCR signal to activate the noncanonical NF-κB pathway and enhance B cell survival. These results reveal a cross-talk downstream of FcμR and BCR signaling and provide mechanistic insight into FcμR-mediated enhancement of B cell survival after BCR stimulation.
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