Article abstract
Nature Immunology 9, 733 - 742 (2008)
Published online: 30 May 2008 | doi:10.1038/ni.1621
Basophils enhance immunological memory responses
Andrea Denzel1, Ulrich A Maus2, Manuel Rodriguez Gomez1, Cordula Moll1,5, Marianne Niedermeier1, Christine Winter2, Regina Maus2, Susan Hollingshead3, David E Briles3, Leoni A Kunz-Schughart4,5, Yvonne Talke1 & Matthias Mack1
Abstract
The cellular basis of immunological memory remains a controversial issue. Here we show that basophils bound large amounts of intact antigens on their surface and were the main source of interleukins 6 and 4 in the spleen and bone marrow after restimulation with a soluble antigen. Depletion of basophils resulted in a much lower humoral memory response and greater susceptibility of immunized mice to sepsis induced by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Adoptive transfer of antigen-reactive basophils significantly increased specific antibody production, and activated basophils, together with CD4+ T cells, profoundly enhanced B cell proliferation and immunoglobulin production. These basophil-dependent effects on B cells required interleukins 6 and 4 and increased the capacity of CD4+ T cells to provide B cell help. Thus, basophils are important contributors to humoral memory immune responses.
- Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg, Germany.
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Laboratory for Experimental Lung Research, Hannover School of Medicine, 30625 Hannover, Germany.
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA.
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Regensburg, 93042 Regensburg, Germany.
- Present addresses: Center for Plant Molecular Biology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany (C.M.), and OncoRay, Dresden University of Technology, 01307 Dresden, Germany (L.A.K.-S.).
Correspondence to: Matthias Mack1 e-mail: matthias.mack@klinik.uni-regensburg.de
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