Transcriptional profiling of mouse B cell terminal differentiation defines a signature for antibody-secreting plasma cells

Wei Shi, Yang Liao, Simon N Willis, Nadine Taubenheim, Michael Inouye, David M Tarlinton, Gordon K Smyth, Philip D Hodgkin, Stewart L Nutt, Lynn M Corcoran

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

285 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

When B cells encounter an antigen, they alter their physiological state and anatomical localization and initiate a differentiation process that ultimately produces antibody-secreting cells (ASCs). We have defined the transcriptomes of many mature B cell populations and stages of plasma cell differentiation in mice. We provide a molecular signature of ASCs that highlights the stark transcriptional divide between B cells and plasma cells and enables the demarcation of ASCs on the basis of location and maturity. Changes in gene expression correlated with cell-division history and the acquisition of permissive histone modifications, and they included many regulators that had not been previously implicated in B cell differentiation. These findings both highlight and expand the core program that guides B cell terminal differentiation and the production of antibodies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)663 - 673
Number of pages11
JournalNature Immunology
Volume16
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes

Cite this