Summary
We characterize B cell progenitors in the thymus. Though mature thymic B cells are sIg+B220+/CD43−, B cell progenitors in the thymus were found to be slg− /B220med/CD43+. Most progenitors showed rearranged Ig D-J and V-D-J patterns when DNA from sorted B cell progenitors was amplified by PCR, blotted and probed. When B cell progenitors were purified from the thymus and injected intra-thymically into Ighallotype disparate recipients, B cells bearing donor-type Igh6 were detected in the thymus but not in the periphery. Thymic B cells generated from these progenitors were CD5+ cells, though there was a broad range of expression of CD5 molecules. Furthermore, B cells purified from the thymus that had been inoculated with B cell progenitors were able to differentiate into antibody-forming cells under the influence of CD40 ligand plus IL-10, and secreted IgM with donor Igh6-allotype. We have thus confirmed the existence of B cell progenitors in the thymus and also characterized the surface markers and their functions.
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Inaba, M. et al. (1999). Presence Of B Cell Progenitors In the Thymus. In: Abraham, N.G., Tabilio, A., Martelli, M., Asano, S., Donfrancesco, A. (eds) Molecular Biology of Hematopoiesis 6. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4797-6_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4797-6_8
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