Open AccessHuman CD100, a novel leukocyte semaphorin that promotes B-cell aggregation and differentiation.
Author(s) -
Kathryn T. Hall,
Laurence Boumsell,
Joachim L. Schultze,
Vassiliki A. Boussiotis,
David M. Dorfman,
Angelo A. Cardoso,
Armand Bensussan,
Lee M. Nadler,
Gordon J. Freeman
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.93.21.11780
Subject(s) - semaphorin , biology , immune system , cd22 , b cell , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience , computational biology , cd19 , immunology , receptor , genetics , antibody
Herein we describe the molecular characterization of the human leukocyte activation antigen CD100 and identify it as the first semaphorin, to our knowledge, in the immune system. Semaphorins have recently been described as neuronal chemorepellants that direct pioneering neurons during nervous system development. In this study we demonstrate that CD100 induces B cells to aggregate and improves their viability in vitro. We show that CD100 modifies CD40-CD40L B-cell signaling by augmenting B-cell aggregation and survival and down-regulating CD23 expression. Thus, these results suggest that semaphorins as exemplified by CD100 also play a functional role in the immune system.