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Summary Fc receptor-like (FCRL) molecules are preferentially expressed by B lymphocytes and possess tyrosine-based immunoregulatory function. Although they generally inhibit B cell receptor (BCR) signaling, their influence on other activation pathways remains largely unexplored. In humans, FCRL3 encodes a type I transmembrane protein harboring both cytoplasmic ITAM and ITIM elements that can repress BCR activation. Despite this inhibitory property, mounting associations for FCRL3 with autoimmune and lymphoproliferative disorders imply a role for it in promoting B cell pathogenesis. Here we explore its influence on B cell responses to innate Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) stimulation. A detailed survey of blood B cell populations found that FCRL3 expression increased as a function of differentiation and was higher among memory subsets with innate-like features. FCRL3 ligation augmented CpG oligodeoxynucleotide TLR9-mediated B cell proliferation, activation, and survival, but surprisingly, abrogated plasma cell differentiation and antibody production. Although FCRL3 amplified the NF-κB and MAPK signaling cascades, it halted CpG triggered BLIMP1 induction in an ERK-dependent fashion. These findings indicate that FCRL3 differentially modulates innate signaling in B cells and provide new insight into the potential of this disease-associated receptor to counter-regulate adaptive and innate immunity.

Receptors for the Fc portion (FCR) of Ig have been extensively characterized and are known to regulate humoral responses, but members of the closely related FCR-like (FCRL) family have not been found to bind Ig and to date no ligand has been identified for any FCRL. Using a cell-based GFP reporter system and a recombinant Fc chimeric protein, we show that human FCRL6, a receptor selectively expressed by cytotoxic T and NK cells, directly binds HLA-DR, a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecule. Given the similarity among constant regions of Ig and MHC molecules, these findings suggest that representatives of the FCR and FCRL multigene families may have independently evolved to engage two ancestral elements fundamental to adaptive immunity. This discovery may offer new insight into the interaction between cytotoxic lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells and may have important implications for better understanding HLA disease susceptibility and pathogenesis.

Background Specific microbial antigens stimulate production of antibodies indicative of the aberrant immune response in Crohn’s disease (CD). We tested for T cell reactivity linkage to B cell responses and now report on the prevalence, functionality, and phenotypic differences of flagellin-specific T cells among CD patients, ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, and control subjects and association with clinical features and flagellin seropositivity within CD patients. Methods Sera from non–inflammatory bowel disease control subjects, CD patients, and UC patients were probed for antibody reactivity to gut bacterial recombinant flagellin antigens. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were measured for flagellin antigen (CBir1, A4 Fla2, FlaX) or control (Candida albicans, and CytoStim) reactivity analyzed by flow cytometry for CD154 and cytokine expression on CD4+ T cells. Supernatants from post–flagellin-stimulated and unstimulated cells were used to measure effects on epithelial barrier function. Results CD patients had a significantly higher percentage of flagellin-specific CD154+ CD4+ cells that have an effector memory T helper 1 and T helper 17 phenotype compared with UC patients and healthy control subjects. There was a positive correlation between the frequency of flagellin-specific CD154+ CD4+ effector memory T cells and serum levels of anti-flagellin immunoglobulin G in the CD patients. In addition, A4 Fla2–reactive T cells from active CD patients produced cytokines that can decrease barrier function in a gut epithelium. Conclusions These findings demonstrate a Crohn’s-associated flagellin-reactive CD4 cell subset distinct from UC patients and control subjects. There is a link between these cells and flagellin seropositivity. This CD4 cell subset could reflect a particular endophenotype of CD, leading to novel insight into its pathology and treatment.