Mode of Bioenergetic Metabolism during B Cell Differentiation in the Intestine Determines the Distinct Requirement for Vitamin B1.

Bioenergetic metabolism varies during cell differentiation, but details of B cell metabolism remain unclear. Here, we show the metabolic changes during B cell differentiation in the intestine, where B cells differentiate into IgA(+) plasma cells (PCs). Naive B cells in the Peyer's patches (PPs) and IgA(+) PCs in the intestinal lamina propria (iLP) both used the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, but only IgA(+) PCs underwent glycolysis. These metabolic differences reflected their dependencies on vitamin B1, an essential cofactor for the TCA cycle. Indeed, the diminished activity of the TCA cycle after dietary vitamin B1 depletion decreased the number of naive B cells in PPs without affecting IgA(+) PCs in the iLP. The maintenance of naive B cells by dietary vitamin B1 was required to induce-but not maintain-intestinal IgA responses against oral antigens. These findings reveal the diet-mediated maintenance of B cell immunometabolism in organized and diffuse intestinal tissues.

Microbe-dependent CD11b+ IgA+ plasma cells mediate robust early-phase intestinal IgA responses in mice.

Intestinal plasma cells predominantly produce immunoglobulin (Ig) A, however, their functional diversity remains poorly characterized. Here we show that murine intestinal IgA plasma cells can be newly classified into two populations on the basis of CD11b expression, which cannot be discriminated by currently known criteria such as general plasma cell markers, B cell origin and T cell dependence. CD11b(+) IgA(+) plasma cells require the lymphoid structure of Peyer's patches, produce more IgA than CD11b(-) IgA(+) plasma cells, proliferate vigorously, and require microbial stimulation and IL-10 for their development and maintenance. These features allow CD11b(+) IgA(+) plasma cells to mediate early-phase antigen-specific intestinal IgA responses induced by oral immunization with protein antigen. These findings reveal the functional diversity of IgA(+) plasma cells in the murine intestine.

Development of mature and functional human myeloid subsets in hematopoietic stem cell-engrafted NOD/SCID/IL2rγKO mice.

Although physiological development of human lymphoid subsets has become well documented in humanized mice, in vivo development of human myeloid subsets in a xenotransplantation setting has remained unevaluated. Therefore, we investigated in vivo differentiation and function of human myeloid subsets in NOD/SCID/IL2rγ(null) (NSG) mouse recipients transplanted with purified lineage(-)CD34(+)CD38(-) cord blood hematopoietic stem cells. At 4-6 mo posttransplantation, we identified the development of human neutrophils, basophils, mast cells, monocytes, and conventional and plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the recipient hematopoietic organs. The tissue distribution and morphology of these human myeloid cells were similar to those identified in humans. After cytokine stimulation in vitro, phosphorylation of STAT molecules was observed in neutrophils and monocytes. In vivo administration of human G-CSF resulted in the recruitment of human myeloid cells into the recipient circulation. Flow cytometry and confocal imaging demonstrated that human bone marrow monocytes and alveolar macrophages in the recipients displayed intact phagocytic function. Human bone marrow-derived monocytes/macrophages were further confirmed to exhibit phagocytosis and killing of Salmonella typhimurium upon IFN-γ stimulation. These findings demonstrate the development of mature and functionally intact human myeloid subsets in vivo in the NSG recipients. In vivo human myelopoiesis established in the NSG humanized mouse system may facilitate the investigation of human myeloid cell biology including in vivo analyses of infectious diseases and therapeutic interventions.