Article abstract


Nature Immunology 8, 522 - 531 (2007)
Published online: 1 April 2007 | Corrected online: 30 May 2007 | doi:10.1038/ni1452

Local increase in thymic stromal lymphopoietin induces systemic alterations in B cell development

Alexander Astrakhan1, Miyuki Omori2,7, Thuc Nguyen3,7, Shirly Becker-Herman4,7, Masanori Iseki2,7, Theingi Aye2, Kelly Hudkins5, James Dooley6, Andrew Farr1,6, Charles E Alpers5, Steven F Ziegler1,2 & David J Rawlings1,4


The cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) drives immature B cell development in vitro and may regulate T helper type 2 responses. Here we analyzed the involvement of TSLP in B cell development in vivo with a doxycycline-inducible, keratin 5–driven transgene encoding TSLP (K5-TSLP). K5-TSLP-transgenic mice given doxycycline showed an influx of immature B cells into the periphery, with population expansion of follicular mature B cells, near-complete loss of marginal zone and marginal zone precursor B cells, and 'preferential' population expansion of peritoneal B-1b B cells. These changes promoted cryoglobulin production and immune complex–mediated renal disease. Identical events occurred in mice without T cells, in alternative TSLP-transgenic models and in K5-TSLP-transgenic mice with undetectable systemic TSLP. These observations suggest that signals mediating localized TSLP expression may modulate systemic B cell development and promote humoral autoimmunity.

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  1. Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
  2. Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
  3. Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
  5. Department of Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
  6. Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
  7. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to: David J Rawlings1,4 e-mail: drawling@u.washington.edu

Correspondence to: Steven F Ziegler1,2 e-mail: sziegler@benaroyaresearch.org

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