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A dual role of activin A in regulating immunoglobulin production of B cells
Author(s) -
Ogawa Kenji,
Funaba Masayuki,
Tsujimoto Masafumi
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of leukocyte biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.819
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1938-3673
pISSN - 0741-5400
DOI - 10.1189/jlb.1007710
Subject(s) - activin type 2 receptors , follistatin , biology , immune system , acvr2b , immunoglobulin e , receptor , antibody , cd40 , microbiology and biotechnology , b cell , secretion , tgf beta signaling pathway , activin receptor , medicine , endocrinology , transforming growth factor , in vitro , immunology , cytotoxic t cell , biochemistry
Here, we report that activin A has a dual role in regulating Ig production of murine B cells. Activated B cells secrete activin activity by increasing activin A and decreasing follistatin expression. B cells also express type I and type II activin receptors, suggesting that they are targets of activin. Pretreatment of naïve B cells with activin A and subsequent activation by LPS resulted in increased cell growth and IgG production. In contrast, no significant effect was observed when activin A was added to naïve B cells simultaneously with LPS, indicating that activin A acts on resting but not activated B cells. In addition, activin A did not induce B cells to produce IgE, even when added prior to activation; however, in vivo antigen‐specific IgE production was reduced significantly by neutralization of circulating activin A. These findings indicate that activin A plays an important role in Th2‐mediated immune responses by enhancing antibody production through two distinct modes: acts directly on resting B cells to elicit full functions of activated B cells and acts indirectly on activated B cells through modulation of other immune cells.