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Eosinophils are not essential for maintenance of murine plasma cells in the bone marrow
Author(s) -
Haberland Konrad,
Ackermann Jochen A.,
Ipseiz Natacha,
Culemann Stephan,
Pracht Katharina,
Englbrecht Matthias,
Jäck HansMartin,
Schett Georg,
Schuh Wolfgang,
Krönke Gerhard
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.272
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1521-4141
pISSN - 0014-2980
DOI - 10.1002/eji.201747227
Subject(s) - eosinophil , immunology , bone marrow , biology , autoantibody , antibody , plasma cell , antigen , asthma
Abstract Eosinophils were reported to serve as an essential component of the plasma cell niche within the bone marrow. As the potential contribution of eosinophils to humoral immunity has remained incompletely understood, we aimed to further characterize their role during antibody responses and to additionally investigate their role in autoimmune disease. Contrary to our expectations and the currently prevailing paradigm, we found that eosinophils are fully dispensable for the survival of murine bone marrow plasma cells and accordingly do not contribute to antibody production and autoantibody‐mediated disease. Littermate wild type and eosinophil‐deficient ΔdblGATA‐1 animals showed similar numbers and frequencies of plasma cells and did not differ in steady state levels of immunoglobulins or their ability to raise antigen‐specific antibody responses. Eosinophils were likewise dispensable for autoantibody production or autoantibody‐induced disease in a mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus. Our findings thus argue against a role of eosinophils during the maintenance of the plasma cell pool and challenge the hitherto postulated concept of an eosinophil‐sustained bone marrow niche.