Search

Regulatory B (Breg) cells have been shown to play a critical role in immune homeostasis and in autoimmunity models. We have recently demonstrated that combined anti-T cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain-1 and anti-CD45RB antibody treatment results in tolerance to full MHC-mismatched islet allografts in mice by generating Breg cells that are necessary for tolerance. Breg cells are antigen-specific and are capable of transferring tolerance to untreated, transplanted animals. Here, we demonstrate that adoptively transferred Breg cells require the presence of regulatory T (Treg) cells to establish tolerance, and that adoptive transfer of Breg cells increases the number of Treg cells. Interaction with Breg cells in vivo induces significantly more Foxp3 expression in CD4(+) CD25(-) T cells than with naive B cells. We also show that Breg cells express the TGF-β associated latency-associated peptide and that Breg-cell mediated graft prolongation post-adoptive transfer is abrogated by neutralization of TGF-β activity. Breg cells, like Treg cells, demonstrate preferential expression of both C-C chemokine receptor 6 and CXCR3. Collectively, these findings suggest that in this model of antibody-induced transplantation tolerance, Breg cells promote graft survival by promoting Treg-cell development, possibly via TGF-β production., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Selective interference with the CD45RB isoform by mAb (anti-CD45RB) reliably induces donor-specific tolerance. Although previous studies suggest participation of regulatory T cells, a mechanistic understanding of anti-CD45RB-induced tolerance is lacking. We report herein the unexpected finding that tolerance induced by this agent is not established in B cell-deficient mice but can be recovered by preemptive B lymphocyte transfer to B cell-deficient hosts. Using B cells from genetically modified donors to reconstitute B cell-deficient recipients, we evaluate the role of B lymphocyte-expressed CD45RB, T cell costimulatory molecules, and the production of Abs in this novel tolerance mechanism. Our data document an Ab-induced tolerance regimen that is uniquely B lymphocyte-dependent and suggest mechanistic contributions to tolerance development from the B cell compartment through interactions with T cells.