Migration of antibody secreting cells towards CXCL12 depends on the isotype that forms the BCR

Abstract

Truncation of the cytoplasmic tail of membrane-bound IgE in vivo results in lower serum IgE levels, decreased numbers of IgE-secreting plasma cells and the abrogation of specific secondary immune responses. Here we present mouse strain KN1 that expresses a chimeric ε-γ1 BCR, consisting of the extracellular domains of the ε gene and the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of the γ1 gene. Thus, differences in the IgE immune response of KN1 mice reflect the influence of the “γ1-mediated signalling” of mIgE bearing B cells. KN1 mice show an increased serum IgE level, resulting from an elevated number of IgE-secreting cells. Although the primary IgE immune response in KN1 mice is inconspicuous, the secondary response is far more robust. Most strikingly, IgE-antibody secreting cells with “γ1-signalling history” migrate more efficiently towards the chemokine CXCL12, which guides plasmablasts to plasma cell niches, than IgE-antibody secreting cells with WT “ε-signalling history”. We conclude that IgE plasmablasts have an intrinsic, lower chance to contribute to the long-lived plasma cell pool than IgG1 plasmablasts.