Lecture 2 - B cells - Immune Deficiencies 2 Flashcards
What is the phenotype of mice lacking CD40L?
- Unable to undergo isotope switching
- No memory
- Low affinity
What is a combined immune deficiency?
Spans both humoral and cellular immunity
What is the name for humoral deficiencies (as opposed to combined)?
Antibody deficiencies
Describe persistence of B cell immunity
Even 60 years after vaccination, there can be protective levels of antibody in the serum
Describe the antibody response after vaccination
→ Vaccination
• IgM response
• Later, isotope switching to IgG
→ Booster
• Increased levels of IgG
Compare B memory cells in the healthy people and hyper IgM patients
Normal: Many memory cells in serum
HIGM: no memory B cells in their serum
What are the symptoms of Hyper-IgM syndromes?
- Recurrent infections (upper and lower respiratory)
- GIT dysfunction (malabsorption)
- Autoimmune disorders
- Enlarged 2° lymphoid organs
What happens on a cellular level to a B cell when differentiating into a plasma cell?
What brings about this change?
Which other cell mediated this?
Why?
Major organelle reorganisation
- Expression of BLIMP1
- Switching off of B cell program
- Change to plasma cell program
Tightly regulation:
• By CD4+ cells (Tfh)
• This is because making Ab is dangerous: once it’s made, it can’t be unmade
• Need to be sure that the Ab being made is not going to cause problems
What are the various areas in the spleen?
Describe the structure
- Red pulp:
• Erythrocytes
2. White pulp: • Lymphocytes • Surrounding blood vessels a. Follicle: B cells b. PALS: T cells c. Marginal zone: around follicle
Describe the cell distribution within white pulp
- Mature B lymphocytes: follicle
- T lymphocytes: periarteriolar sheath (central)
- Dendritic cells: PALS
- MZ B lymphocytes: marginal zone
Describe the early and late stages of B and T cell activation in lymphoid organs
- B cell clonally selected; Ag on follicular DC; T cell stimulated by Ag presented on DC
- B cell and T cell migrate to boundary of B cell follicle and paracortex
a. B cell upregulation of CCR7
b. T cell upregulation of CXCR5 - TFH cell and B cell interaction:
a. MHC II:peptide – TCR
b. CD40 – CD40L - B cell forms a germinal centre under the action of Bcl-6 and undergoes maturation events:
a. CSR
b. SHM
c. Affinity maturation - Alternatively, some B cells differentiate immediately into plasma cells under the action of BLIMP1:
a. BLIMP1: transcription repressor that turns of B cell program
b. Immediate production of low affinity IgM
What is a germinal centre?
Which cells are present, and in what proportions?
An area within a secondary lymphoid organ in which B cells mature and proliferate
Composition:
• B cells: 90%
• T cells: 5%
• Follicular dendritic cells: 1%
What are the outcomes for B cells after interaction with T cells?
- Initial plasma cells
• Low affinity IgM
• Short lived
• Initial, rapid response - Germinal centre formation
• Maturation events (SHM, CSR, affinity maturation)
• Production of memory cells and ‘better’ plasma cells
Which signals are required for Plasma cell development?
Describe the function
BLIMP1
• Transcription factor (repressor)
• Expressed in B cells
Brings about:
• Switching off of B cell program
• Switching on of plasma cell program
• Massive intracellular reorganisation
What is the transcription factor vital for B cells to form Germinal centres?
Describe its function
Why is it so vital?
Bcl6
Function:
• Transcription repressor
• Promotes cell cycling
Vital:
• Inhibition of the DNA damage response to SHM and CSR
List the processes occurring in the germinal centre
- Clonal expansion
- Isotope switching
- Somatic hypermutation
- Affinity maturation
- Memory formation
Describe the mechanism of somatic hypermutation
- AID converts Cystosine to Uracil in variable region
- Induction of error prone DNA repair
- Random mutation in the V region of the heavy and light chains
Describe affinity maturation
Cells with mutations in Ig with increased affinity are selected, others are discarded
(Evolution on a microscale)
Describe memory formation
High affinity GC B cells differentiate into either:
• Plasma cells
• Memory cells
Memory cells persist after primary infection in secondary lymphoid organs, as well as the BM
What is the difference between the plasma cells derived from the GC and those originally derived from the B cell that was yet to undergo maturation events?
GC derived plasma cells have much higher affinity, and are class switched
Which class of immunoglobulin is made first?
What would be the benefit of this?
IgM
Initially, the immunoglobulins have low affinity, so the pentamer IgM, which confers higher avidity, compensates for this fact
Compare the effector functions of the following: • IgG • IgM • IgA • IgE
IgG
• Complement activation
• Placental transfer
IgM
• Complement activation
• Little bit of mucosal protection
IgA
• Mucosal protection
IgE
• Sensitising of Mast cells
IgD
• Present on mature B cells (naïve)
Compare the location of the following: • IgG • IgM • IgA • IgE
IgG
• Serum
IgM
• Serum
IgA
• Secretions
IgE
• Bound to mast cells
Describe the regions on the Ig molecule that are changed through CSR
What is the significance of this?
Constant region: changes
Variable region: no change
This ensures the antibody still has the same affinity after isotype switching