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B-1 lymphocytes comprise a unique subset of B cells that differ phenotypically, ontogenetically and functionally from conventional B-2 cells. A frequent specificity of the antibody repertoire of peritoneal B-1 cells is phosphatidylcholine. Liposomes containing phosphatidylcholine have been studied as adjuvants and their interaction with dendritic cells and macrophages has been demonstrated. However, the role of B-1 cells in the adjuvanticity of liposomes composed of phosphatidylcholine has not been explored. In the present work, we studied the contribution of B-1 cells to the humoral response against ovalbumin (OVA) encapsulated into dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cholesterol-containing liposomes. BALB/X-linked immunodeficient (xid) mice, which are deficient in B-1 cells, showed quantitative and qualitative differences in the anti-OVA antibody response compared with wild-type animals after immunization with these liposomes. The OVA-specific immune response was significantly increased in the BALB/xid mice when reconstituted with B-1 cells from naive BALB/c mice. Our results indicate the internalization of DPPC-containing liposomes by these cells and their migration from the peritoneal cavity to the spleen. Phosphatidylcholine significantly contributed to the immunogenicity of liposomes, as DPPC-containing liposomes more effectively stimulated the anti-OVA response compared with vesicles composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol. In conclusion, we present evidence for a cognate interaction between B-1 cells and phosphatidylcholine liposomes, modulating the immune response to encapsulated antigens. This provides a novel targeting approach to assess the role of B-1 cells in humoral immunity., (© The Japanese Society for Immunology. 2014. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Macrophages respond to endogenous and non-self stimuli acquiring the M1 or M2 phenotypes, corresponding to classical or alternative activation, respectively. The role of B-1 cells in the regulation of macrophage polarization through the secretion of interleukin (IL)-10 has been demonstrated. However, the influence of B-1 cells on macrophage phenotype induction by an immunogen that suppress their ability to secrete IL-10 has not been explored. Here, we studied the peritoneal macrophage pattern induced by liposomes comprised of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cholesterol (Chol) carrying ovalbumin (OVA) (Lp DPPC/OVA), and the involvement of B-1 cells in macrophage polarization. Peritoneal cells from BALB/c, B-1 cells-deficient BALB/xid and C57BL/6 mice immunized with Lp DPPC/OVA and OVA in soluble form (PBS/OVA) were analyzed and stimulated or not in vitro with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice immunized with Lp DPPC/OVA showed an M2-like phenotype as evidenced by their high arginase activity without LPS stimulation. Upon stimulation, these macrophages were reprogrammable toward the M1 phenotype with the upregulation of nitric oxide (NO) and a decrease in IL-10 secretion. In addition, high IFN-γ levels were detected in the culture supernatant of peritoneal cells from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice immunized with Lp DPPC/OVA. Nevertheless, still high levels of arginase activity and undetectable levels of IL-12 were found, indicating that the switch to a classical activation state was not complete. In the peritoneal cells from liposomes-immunized BALB/xid mice, levels of arginase activity, NO, and IL-6 were below those from wild type animals, but the last two products were restored upon adoptive transfer of B-1 cells, together with an increase in IFN-γ secretion. Summarizing, we have demonstrated that Lp DPPC/OVA induce an M2-like pattern in peritoneal macrophages reprogrammable to M1 phenotype after LPS stimulation, with the involvement of B-1 cells., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Concomitant immunity is a phenomenon in which a tumour-bearing host is resistant to the growth of an implanted secondary tumour. Metastases are considered to be secondary tumours that develop spontaneously during primary tumour growth, suggesting the involvement of concomitant immunity in controlling the rise of metastases. It has been demonstrated that B-1 cells, a subset of B-lymphocytes found predominantly in pleural and peritoneal cavities, not only increase the metastatic development of murine melanoma B16F10, but also are capable of differentiating into mononuclear phagocytes, modulating inflammatory responses in wound healing, in oral tolerance and in Paracoccidiose brasiliensis infections. Here, we studied B-1 cells' participation in concomitant immunity during Ehrlich tumour progression. Our results show that B-1 cells obtained from BALB/c mice previously injected with Ehrlich tumour in the footpad were able to protect BALB/c and BALB/Xid mice against Ehrlich tumour challenge. In addition, it was demonstrated that BALB/Xid show faster tumour growth and have lost concomitant immunity, and that this state can be partially restored by reconstituting these animals with B-1 cells. However, further researches are required to establish the mechanism involving B-1 cells in Ehrlich tumour growth., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

New Zealand Black X New Zealand White F1 [(NZB/NZW)F1] mice develop an autoimmune condition with similarities to human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, we demonstrate that B-1 cells, which have previously been reported to be involved in several autoimmune diseases, have altered gene expression in these mice. RNA was extracted from purified B-1 cells of disease-free C57BL/6 mice and lupus-prone (NZB/NZW)F1 mice. Gene expression was analysed using DNA microarray techniques and validated by real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In (NZB/NZW)F1 mice, some genes had altered expression patterns compared to disease-free controls. Specifically, the upregulation of Ifitm1, Pvrl2 and Ifi202b and downregulation of Trp53bp1 mRNA were observed in (NZB/NZW)F1 mice. These genes are known to be associated with autoimmune diseases. This pattern of gene expression in B-1 cells could understanding of the pathogenesis of SLE. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesise that the altered gene expression observed in B-1 cells in our experimental model is important for SLE prognosis and therapy, and these implications are discussed herein.

B-1 cells constitute a distinct B cell population with unique phenotypic and functional characteristics. They represent the main B cell population found in mouse peritoneal and pleural cavities. The communication between B-1 cells and peritoneal macrophages has been previously studied, and the effect this interaction has on macrophages has been previously described. Using an in vitro co-culture model, herein we demonstrated that peritoneal macrophages were able to increase survival rates and to stimulate proliferation of B-1 cells. IL-6 was also found to be important in B-1 cell survival; recombinant IL-6 increases the percentage of viable B-1 cells in culture. Furthermore, molecules involved in the IL-6 signaling pathway, such as STAT-3 and Bcl-2, were highly expressed in B-1 cells after co-culture with peritoneal macrophages. IL-6-deficient peritoneal macrophages were not able to increase B-1 cell survival, confirming the importance of this cytokine. Altogether, our results indicate a novel mechanism in which peritoneal macrophages are able to regulate the B-1 population via IL-6 secretion.

B-1 cells can be differentiated from B-2 cells because they are predominantly located in the peritoneal and pleural cavities and have distinct phenotypic patterns and activation properties. The role of both cell populations in cancer progression is still controversial. Previous studies have indicated that direct contact between B-1 cells and B16 melanoma tumor cells (B16) increases the metastatic potential of the tumor cells. However, cellular changes that are induced in B-1 cells during the interaction between these two cell types have not been evaluated. In the present study, it is hypothesized that B-1 cells are modified after their interaction with tumor cells, leading to both increased cell viability and rate of proliferation. Additionally, soluble factors that were secreted by B16 cells were sufficient to augment B-1 cell viability and to modify the production of IL-10 by B-1 cells. Impressively, after direct or indirect contact with the B16 cells, B-1 cells became resistant to radiation-induced cell death. Thus, future studies that assess the importance of concomitant immunity and other conventional therapies in cancer treatment are needed., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Evidence from the literature that inflammation is a systemic biological phenomenon prompted us to investigate whether inoculation of different irritants to the footpad of mice might influence the kinetics of resident peritoneal cells., Methods: Mice were inoculated in the footpad at different time intervals with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), Ehrlich ascitic tumor cells or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and resident peritoneal cells were analyzed by flow cytometry., Results: The results indicate that different stimuli induced different responses in resident peritoneal cells. FoxP3 positive regulatory T cells increased drastically in number after BCG inoculation. Conversely, tumor cell inoculation induced a decrease in FoxP3-positive T cells in the peritoneal cavity, although this effect was not statistically significant. Results also show that cells from the paw migrate to the popliteal lymph node and to the peritoneal cavity. Yet, there are cells in the peritoneal cavity that migrate to the popliteal lymph node., Conclusion: These data show that cells from the peritoneal cavity are influenced by pathologies in remote regions of the animal. How this novel phenomenon influences overall immune responses, courses of infection and tumor growth are open to further investigation.

Similar to human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the de novo New Zealand Black (NZB) mouse model has a genetically determined age-associated increase in malignant B-1 clones and decreased expression of microRNAs miR-15a and miR-16 in B-1 cells. In the present study, lentiviral vectors were employed in vivo to restore miR-15a/16, and both the short-term single injection and long-term multiple injection effects of this delivery were observed in NZB. Control lentivirus without the mir-15a/16 sequence was used for comparison. We found that in vivo lentiviral delivery of mir-15a/16 increased miR-15a/16 expression in cells that were transduced (detected by GFP expression) and in sera when compared with control lentivirus treatment. More importantly, mice treated with the miR-expressing lentivirus had decreased disease. The lentivirus had little systemic toxicity while preferentially targeting B-1 cells. Short-term effects on B-1 cells were direct effects, and only malignant B-1 cells transduced with miR-15a/16 lentivirus had decreased viability. In contrast, long-term studies suggested both direct and indirect effects resulting from miR-15a/16 lentivirus treatment. A decrease in B-1 cells was found in both the transduced and non-transduced populations. Our data support the potential use of systemic lentiviral delivery of miR-15a/16 to ameliorate disease manifestations of CLL.

Background: Similar to a subset of human patients who progress from monoclonal B lymphocytosis (MBL) to chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), New Zealand Black (NZB) mice have an age-associated progression to CLL. The murine disease is linked to a genetic abnormality in microRNA mir-15a/16-1 locus, resulting in decreased mature miR-15a/16., Methods: Spleens of aging NZB were analyzed for the presence of B-1 cells via flow cytometry and for the presence of a side population (SP) via the ability of cells to exclude Hoechst 33342 dye. The SP was assayed for the presence of hyperdiploid B-1 clones and for the ability to differentiate into B-1 cells in vitro and transfer disease in vivo. In addition, enhanced apoptosis of chemoresistant NZB B-1 cells was examined by restoring miR-16 levels in nutlin-treated cells., Results: Aging NZB mice develop a B-1 expansion and clonal development that evolves from MBL into CLL. An expansion in SP is also seen. Although the SP did contain increased cells with stem cell markers, they lacked malignant B-1 cells and did not transfer disease in vivo. Similar to B-1 cells, splenic NZB SP also has decreased miR-15a/16 when compared with C57Bl/6. Exogenous addition of miR-15a/16 to NZB B-1 cells resulted in increased sensitivity to nutlin., Conclusion: NZB serve as an excellent model for studying the development and progression of age-associated CLL. NZB SP cells do not seem to contain cancer stem cells, but rather the B-1 stem cell. NZB B-1 chemoresistance may be related to reduced miR-15a/16 expression., (© 2010 International Clinical Cytometry Society.)