The Eph-related tyrosine kinase ligand Ephrin-B1 marks germinal center and memory precursor B cells.

ABSTRACT: Identification of germinal center (GC) B cells is typically reliant on the use of surface activation markers that exhibit a wide range of expression. Here, we identify Ephrin-B1, a ligand for Eph-related receptor tyrosine kinases, as a specific marker of mature GC B cells. The number of Ephrin-B1⁺ GC B cells increases during the course of an immune response with Ephrin-B1⁺ GC B cells displaying elevated levels of Bcl6, S1pr2, and Aicda relative to their Ephrin-B1^- counterparts. We further identified a small proportion of recently dividing, somatically mutated Ephrin-B1⁺ GC B cells that have begun to down-regulate Bcl6 and S1pr2 and express markers associated with memory B cells, such as CD38 and EBI2. Transcriptional analysis

SUBMITTER: Laidlaw BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5339677 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature