Silvia Bolland

Spontaneous Autoimmune Disease in FcγRIIB-Deficient Mice Results from Strain-Specific Epistasis

By virtue of its ability to couple the BCR to an inhibitory pathway, FcgammaRIIB can potentially determine the fate of B cells upon IgG immune complex engagement. We now provide evidence for FcgammaRIIB as a component of a peripheral tolerance pathway with the observation that RIIB-/- mice develop autoantibodies and autoimmune glomerulonephritis in a strain-dependent fashion. Transfer of the autoimmune phenotype is associated with the presence of donor RIIB-/- B cells, with the RIIB+/+ myeloid cells primarily derived from the recipient. These results suggest that deficiency of RIIB on B cells leads to autoimmune disease in specific genetic backgrounds, thus identifying it as a susceptibility factor under the influence of epistatic modifiers for the development of autoimmunity.

Deletion of SHIP or SHP-1 Reveals Two Distinct Pathways for Inhibitory Signaling

Two signaling molecules have been implicated in the modulation of immune receptor activation by inhibitory coreceptors: an inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase, SHIP, and a tyrosine phosphatase, SHP-1. To address the necessity, interaction, or redundancy of these signaling molecules, we have generated SHP-1- or SHIP-deficient B cell lines and determined their ability to mediate inhibitory signaling. Two distinct classes of inhibitory responses are defined, mediated by the selective recruitment of SHP-1 or SHIP. The Fc gammaRIIB class of inhibitory signaling is dependent on SHIP and not SHP-1; conversely, the KIR class requires SHP-1 and not SHIP. The consequence of this selective recruitment by inhibitory receptor engagement is seen in BCR-triggered apoptosis. SHP-1-mediated inhibitory signaling blocks apoptosis, while SHIP recruitment attenuates a proapoptotic signal initiated by Fc gammaRIIB.

SHIP Modulates Immune Receptor Responses by Regulating Membrane Association of Btk

Membrane recruitment of SHIP is responsible for the inhibitory signal generated by FcgammaRIIB coligation to the BCR. By reducing the level of PIP3, SHIP regulates the association of the tyrosine kinase Btk with the membrane through PH domain-phosphoinositol lipid interactions. Inhibition of BCR signaling by either FcgammaRIIB coligation, membrane expression of SHIP, or inhibition of P13K, conditions which result in decreased levels of PIP3, is suppressed by the expression of Btk as a membrane-associated chimera. Conversely, increasing PIP3 levels by deletion of SHIP results in increased Btk association with the membrane and hyperresponsive BCR signaling. These results suggest a central role for PIP3 in regulating the B cell stimulatory state by modulating Btk localization and thereby calcium fluxes.

Genetic Modifiers of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in FcγRIIB−/− Mice

FcγRIIB is a potent lupus susceptibility gene as demonstrated by the observation that mice deficient in this molecule develop spontaneous antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and fatal glomerulonephritis when on the C57BL/6 background. To determine the mechanisms underlying the epistasis displayed by this gene we have constructed hybrids between FcγRIIB−/− and the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) modifiers yaa and lpr and the susceptibility locus Sle1. Sle1 and B6.RIIB−/− are both physically and functionally coupled; compound heterozygotes of Sle1 and B6.RIIB−/− develop significant disease, while single heterozygotes display no evidence of autoimmunity or disease, indicating that these genes lie on the same genetic pathway resulting in the loss of tolerance to nuclear antigens. However, the generation of ANA in itself is insufficient to account for the severity of autoimmune disease in this model, as demonstrated by analysis of yaa and lpr hybrids. Thus, B6.RIIB−/−/lpr mice are protected from disease progression, despite equivalent titers of ANA. In contrast, B6.RIIB−/−/yaa mice have significantly enhanced disease despite reduced ANA titers. Yaa modifies the specificity and thus the pathogenicity of the B6. RIIB−/− ANA, by converting them to antinucleolar antibodies. In addition to these known modifier pathways, we have discovered two novel, recessive loci contributed by the C57BL/6 genome that are required for the ANA phenotype, further indicating the epistatic properties of this SLE model.

Macrophages Control the Retention and Trafficking of B Lymphocytes in the Splenic Marginal Zone

The marginal zone of the spleen is a precisely ordered region that contains specialized subsets of B lymphocytes and macrophages. Disruption of the negative signaling inositol phosphatase, SH2-containing inositol-5-phosphatase 1 (SHIP), results in the loss of marginal zone B cells (MZBs) with reorganization of marginal zone macrophages (MZMOs) to the red pulp of the spleen. This primary macrophage defect, as revealed by selectively depleting SHIP in myeloid cells shows that MZMOs are specifically required for the retention of MZBs. The MZMO phenotype was reverted in SHIP/Brutons tyrosine kinase (Btk) double knockout mice, thus identifying the Btk activating pathway as an essential component being regulated by SHIP. Furthermore, we identified a direct interaction between the MARCO scavenger receptor on MZMOs and MZBs. Activation or disruption of this interaction results in MZB migration to the follicle. The migration of the MZMOs was further studied after the response to Staphylococcus aureus, which induced MZMOs to move into the red pulp while MZBs migrated into the follicular zone. The marginal zone is therefore a dynamic structure in which retention and trafficking of B cells requires specific macrophage–B cell interactions.

INHIBITORY PATHWAYS TRIGGERED BY ITIM-CONTAINING RECEPTORS

Publisher Summary Cell activation triggered by immune receptors—such as the B cell, T cell, or Fc receptor (BCR, TCR, or FcR)—displays the capacity to undergo fine modulation to adjust different developmental and environmental conditions. The response to a particular stimulus represents the balance between stimulatory and inhibitory signals and its magnitude determines the fate of the cell. Thus, the strength of BCR stimulation determines whether a particular cell could proliferate or enter an apoptotic pathway. The three molecules recruited by inhibitory receptors—SHP-1, SHP-2, and SHIP—are part of the general regulation of immune receptor activation in association with antigen, Fc, growth factor, and cytokine receptors, and their absence results in augmented cell activation and proliferation. To date, well-defined ligands and clear physiological functions are elucidated for the Fc receptor system and the NK inhibitory system. With these two molecules as prototypes of the family, significant differences have been observed in their mechanism of conferring inhibitory signals.

SHIP Recruitment Attenuates FcγRIIB-Induced B Cell Apoptosis

Abstract FcγRIIB is an inhibitory receptor that terminates activation signals initiated by antigen cross-linking of the BCR through the recruitment of SHIP. FcγRIIB can also signal independently of BCR coligation to directly mediate an apoptotic response, requiring only an intact transmembrane domain. Failure to recruit SHIP, either by deletion of SHIP or mutation of FcγRIIB, results in enhanced FcγRIIB-triggered apoptosis. Thus, in the germinal center, where ICs are retained by FDCs, FcγRIIB may be an active determinant in the negative selection of B cells whose BCRs have reduced affinity for antigen as a result of somatic hypermutation. Selection of B cells may represent the sum of opposing signals generated by the interaction of ICs with the BCR and FcγRIIB through pathways modulated by SHIP.

Genetic evidence for the role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells in systemic lupus erythematosus

Genetic impairment of plasmacytoid dendritic cells ameliorates autoantibody production and symptoms of SLE in mice.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae kills carcinoembryonic antigen-related cellular adhesion molecule 1 (CD66a)-expressing human B cells and inhibits antibody production.

ABSTRACT Neisseria gonorrhoeae cells (gonococci [GC]), the etiological agents for gonorrhea, can cause repeated infections. During and after gonococcal infection, local and systemic antigonococcal antibody levels are low. These clinical data indicate the possibility that GC may suppress immune responses during infection. Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cellular adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1 or CD66a), a receptor for GC opacity (Opa) proteins, was shown to mediate inhibitory signals. In the present study, human B cells were activated by interleukin-2 to express CEACAM1 and then stimulated to secrete antibodies and simultaneously coincubated with Opa− and OpaI GC of strain MS11. Our results show that this OpaI GC has the ability to inhibit antibody production. The interaction of GC and CEACAM1 with human peripheral B cells also results in induction of cell death. The same findings were observed in DT40 B cells. This CEACAM1-promoted cell death pathway does not involve the inhibitory signals or the tyrosine phosphatases SHP-1 and SHP-2 but depends on Brutons tyrosine kinase in DT40 cells. Our results suggest that Neisseria gonorrhoeae possesses the ability to suppress antibody production by killing CEACAM1-expressing B cells.

Biliary glycoprotein (BGPa, CD66a, CEACAM1) mediates inhibitory signals

Biliary glycoprotein (BGP, CD66a, CEACAM1) is a member of the carcinoembryonic antigen family (CEA, CD66), a group of transmembrane proteins belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily. The structural features surrounding the tyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic domain of BGP share similarity with the consensus sequence of the immunoreceptor tyrosine‐based inhibition motif (ITIM), the docking site for SHIP, SHP‐1, and SHP‐2 molecules. Using the well‐characterized inhibitory receptor, FcγRIIB, we constructed a FcγRIIB‐BGPa chimeric molecule that contained the extracellular and transmembrane domain of FcγRIIB and the cytoplasmic tail of BGPa and expressed it in DT40 B cells. Our results showed that FcγRIIB‐BGPa, just like the unmodified FcγRIIB molecule, inhibited calcium influx in activated DT40 B cells. Substitution of tyrosine with phenylalanine (Y459F) in FcγRIIB‐BGPa completely abrogated its ability to inhibit calcium influx, indicating that the motif surrounding Y459 is ITIM. The presence of ITIM was also supported by showing that the FcγRIIB‐BGPa‐mediated inhibitory effect was reduced in SHP‐1and SHP‐2 mutant DT40 B cells and further diminished in a SHP‐1/‐2 double‐deficient mutant line. The results suggest that SHP‐1 and SHP‐2 are required for the FcγRIIB‐BGPa‐mediated inhibitory signals.