Antibody-secreting plasma cells are nonrecirculatory and lodge in splenic red pulp, lymph node medullary cords, and bone marrow. The factors that regulate plasma cell localization are poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that, compared with their B cell precursors, plasma cells exhibit increased chemotactic sensitivity to the CXCR4 ligand CXCL12. At the same time, they downregulate CXCR5 and CCR7 and have reduced responsiveness to the B and T zone chemokines CXCL13, CCL19, and CCL21. We demonstrate that CXCL12 is expressed within splenic red pulp and lymph node medullary cords as well as in bone marrow. In chimeric mice reconstituted with CXCR4-deficient fetal liver cells, plasma cells are mislocalized in the spleen, found in elevated numbers in blood, and fail to accumulate normally in the bone marrow. Our findings indicate that as B cells differentiate into plasma cells they undergo a coordinated change in chemokine responsiveness that regulates their movements in secondary lymphoid organs and promotes lodgment within the bone marrow.

Despite their widespread expression, the in vivo recruitment activities of CCL19 (EBV-induced molecule 1 ligand chemokine) and CXCL12 (stromal cell-derived factor 1) have not been established. Furthermore, although CXCL13 (B lymphocyte chemoattractant) has been shown to induce lymphoid neogenesis through induction of lymphotoxin (LT)α1β2, it is unclear whether other homeostatic chemokines have this property. In this work we show that ectopic expression in pancreatic islets of CCL19 leads to small infiltrates composed of lymphocytes and dendritic cells and containing high endothelial venules and stromal cells. Ectopic CXCL12 induced small infiltrates containing few T cells but enriched in dendritic cells, B cells, and plasma cells. Comparison of CCL19 transgenic mice with mice expressing CCL21 (secondary lymphoid tissue chemokine) revealed that CCL21 induced larger and more organized infiltrates. A more significant role for CCL21 is also suggested in lymphoid tissues, as CCL21 protein was found to be present in lymph nodes and spleen at much higher concentrations than CCL19. CCL19 and CCL21 but not CXCL12 induced LTα1β2 expression on naive CD4 T cells, and treatment of CCL21 transgenic mice with LTβR-Fc antagonized development of organized lymphoid structures. LTα1β2 was also induced on naive T cells by the cytokines IL-4 and IL-7. These studies establish that CCL19 and CXCL12 are sufficient to mediate cell recruitment in vivo and they indicate that LTα1β2 may function downstream of CCL21, CCL19, and IL-2 family cytokines in normal and pathological lymphoid tissue development.

Our prior work shows that cultured BR cells derived from dog mastocytomas secrete the 92-kDa proenzyme form of gelatinase B. We provided a possible link between mast cell activation and metalloproteinase-mediated matrix degradation by demonstrating that α-chymase, a serine protease released from secretory granules by degranulating mast cells, converts progelatinase B to an enzymatically active form. The current work shows that these cells also secrete gelatinase A. Furthermore, gelatinases A and B both colocalize to α-chymase-expressing cells of canine airway, suggesting that normal mast cells are a source of gelatinases in the lung. In BR cells, gelatinase B and α-chymase expression are regulated, whereas gelatinase A expression is constitutive. Progelatinase B mRNA and enzyme expression are strongly induced by the critical mast cell growth factor, kit ligand, which is produced by fibroblasts and other stromal cells. Induction of progelatinase B is blocked by U-73122, Ro31-8220, and thapsigargin, implicating phospholipase C, protein kinase C, and Ca2+, respectively, in the kit ligand effect. The profibrotic cytokine TGF-β virtually abolishes the gelatinase B mRNA signal and also attenuates kit ligand-mediated induction of gelatinase B expression, suggesting that an excess of TGF-β in inflamed or injured tissues may alter mast cell expression of gelatinase B, which is implicated in extracellular matrix degradation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. In summary, these data provide the first evidence that normal mast cells express gelatinases A and B and suggest pathways by which their regulated expression by mast cells can influence matrix remodeling and fibrosis.