A Trypanosoma cruzi antigen signals CD11b+ cells to secrete cytokines that promote polyclonal B cell proliferation and differentiation into antibody secreting cells

MONTES CL; ACOSTA RODRIGUEZ EV; MUCCI J; ZUÑIGA EI; CAMPETELLA O; GRUPPI A

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY

Año: 2006 p. 1474 - 1474

0014-2980

font face="AdvLT70604" size="2"> Microbial-induced polyclonal activation of B cells is a common event in several forms of infections, and is believed to play a crucial role both for enhancing the production of specific antibodies and for maintenance of B cell memory. Therefore, a major challenge in biomedical research is the identification of pathogen-derived products capable of rapidly mounting B cell expansion and differentiation. Here we report that glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) stimulates polyclonal proliferation and differentiation of naive B cells. This stimulation was found to be T cell independent, but to absolutely require CD11b+ cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that stimulation of CD11b+