2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-mediated suppression of toll-like receptor stimulated B-lymphocyte activation and initiation of plasmacytic differentiation.

ABSTRACT: 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlordibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent suppressor of humoral immunity, disrupting antibody production in response to both T cell-dependent and T cell-independent antigens. Among the cell types required for humoral responses, the B cell is highly, and directly, sensitive to TCDD. B cells become antibody-secreting cells via plasmacytic differentiation, a process regulated by several transcription factors, including activator protein-1, B-cell CLL/lymphoma 6 (BCL-6), and B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1 (Blimp-1). The overarching conceptual framework guiding experimentation is that TCDD disrupts plasmacytic differentiation by altering the expression or activity for upstream regulators of Blimp-1. Multiparametric flow cytometry was used to investigate TCDD-induced alter

SUBMITTER: North CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2886857 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature