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Plasma cell alloantigen ENPP1 is expressed by a subset of human B cells with potential regulatory functions
Author(s) -
Yoon Jeongheon,
Wang Hongsheng,
Kim Yong Chan,
Yoshimoto Momoko,
Abbasi Sadia,
Morse Herbert C
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
immunology and cell biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0818-9641
DOI - 10.1038/icb.2016.31
Subject(s) - cd40 , germinal center , b cell , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , cord blood , plasma cell , naive b cell , bone marrow , immunology , antibody , biochemistry , in vitro , cytotoxic t cell
Plasma cell alloantigen 1 (PC1), also known as ENPP1 (ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1), is an enzyme involved primarily in hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate at the cell surface. Although the expression pattern of PC1 is relatively broad, its expression in B cells is found at significant levels only in terminally differentiated germinal center B cells, plasma cells and a subset of B‐1a cells in mice. Here we describe studies designed to determine whether expression of PC1 might define novel populations of human B cells with similarities to mouse B cells. We found that PC1 is expressed in small populations of human B lineage cells in peripheral blood, cord blood, tonsils, bone marrow and pediatric peritoneal fluid, with the highest levels in plasma cells. The characteristics of human PC1 + B cells differ from mouse peritoneal B‐1a subsets and from features of the human CD20 + CD27 + CD43 + CD70 − B‐cell subset proposed to be human B‐1 cells. Expression of PC1 was greatly increased in B cells stimulated with the combination of CD40 ligand, interleukin (IL)‐4 and IL‐21. In addition, PC1 + B cells activated CD4 + T regulatory cells. ENPP1 thus defines a subset of human B cells that differs significantly from mouse peritoneal B‐1a and proposed human B‐1 cells.