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Development of B Cells secreting Endogenous or Transgene‐Encoded Immunoglobulins in H‐Chain Transgenic Mice
Author(s) -
GRANDIEN A.,
COUTINHO A.,
ANDERSSON J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1993.tb01705.x
Subject(s) - transgene , endogeny , genetically modified mouse , biology , antibody , spleen , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , gene , endocrinology , genetics
The development of splenic B cells secreting transgene‐encoded or endogenous immunoglobulin (Ig) was analysed in the μ heavy (H‐)chain transgenic mouse line M54. The results show that cells secreting endogenous Ig are not detectable during the perinatal period, even after lipopolysaccharide stimulation in vitro . At this time, transgene‐secreting cells are readily detectable and keep increasing with age of the animals. After a few weeks of age cells secreting endogenous Ig appear in the spleen and keep increasing with age, reaching numbers comparable to non‐transgenic littermates by 5 weeks of age. Thereafter, the proportion of transgene‐secreting B cells decreases. We conclude that the preferential expression of endogenous Igs by secreting B cells in the adult does not result from peculiar genetic features of those cells, but from age‐dependent cellular selection operating on all B cells.