The development of B cells is dependent on the sequential DNA rearrangement of immunoglobulin loci that encode subunits of the B cell receptor. The pathway navigates a crucial checkpoint that ensures expression of a signalling-competent immunoglobulin heavy chain before commitment to rearrangement and expression of an immunoglobulin light chain. The checkpoint segregates proliferation of pre-B cells from immunoglobulin light chain recombination and their differentiation into B cells. Recent advances have revealed the molecular circuitry that controls two rival signalling systems, namely the interleukin-7 (IL-7) receptor and the pre-B cell receptor, to ensure that proliferation and immunoglobulin recombination are mutually exclusive, thereby maintaining genomic integrity during B cell development.

The most prevalent severe manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is nephritis which is characterized by immune complex deposition, inflammation, and scarring in both glomeruli and in the tubulointerstitium. Numerous studies indicate that glomerulonephritis results from a systemic break in B cell tolerance resulting in the local deposition of immune complexes containing antibodies reactive with ubiquitous self-antigens. However, the pathogenesis of SLE tubulointerstitial disease is not known. Herein, we demonstrate that in over half of a cohort of 68 lupus nephritis biopsies, the tubulointerstitial infiltrate was organized into either well-circumscribed T:B cell aggregates or germinal centers (GCs) containing follicular dendritic cells. Sampling of the in situ expressed immunoglobulin repertoire revealed that both histological patterns were associated with intrarenal B cell clonal expansion and ongoing somatic hypermutation. However, in the GC histology the proliferating cells were CD138−CD20+ centroblasts while in T:B aggregates, they were CD138+CD20low/− plasmablasts. The presence of either GCs or T:B aggregates was strongly associated with tubular basement membrane immune complexes. These data implicate tertiary lymphoid neogenesis in the pathogenesis of lupus tubulointerstitial inflammation.

The molecular crosstalk between the interkeukin-7 receptor (IL-7R) and pre-BCR in B lymphopoiesis has been enigmatic. We demonstrate that in pre-B cells, the IL-7R, but not the pre-BCR, was coupled to the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K)–Akt module, signaling by which prevents Rag expression. Attenuation of IL-7 signaling resulted in up-regulation of Foxo1 and Pax5, which co-activated many pre-B cell genes, including Rag1,2 and Blnk. Induction of the latter gene enabled pre-BCR signaling via the Syk-BLNK module and promoted immunoglobulin light chain rearrangement. BLNK signaling also antagonized Akt activation, thereby augmenting Foxo1 and Pax5 accumulation. This self-reinforcing molecular circuit appears to sense limiting concentrations of IL-7 and functions to control the expansion and differentiation of pre-B cells.

HS1, the leukocyte-specific homolog of cortactin, regulates F-actin in vitro and is phosphorylated in response to TCR ligation, but its role in lymphocyte activation has not been addressed. We demonstrate that HS1-deficient T cells fail to accumulate F-actin at the immune synapse (IS) and, upon TCR ligation, form actin-rich structures that are disordered and unstable. Early TCR activation events are intact in these cells, but Ca2+ influx and IL-2 gene transcription are defective. Importantly, HS1 tyrosine phosphorylation is required for its targeting to the IS and for its function in regulating actin dynamics and IL-2 promoter activity. Phosphorylation also links HS1 to multiple signaling proteins, including Lck, PLCgamma1, and Vav1, and is essential for the stable recruitment of Vav1 to the IS. Taken together, our studies show that HS1 is indispensable for signaling events leading to actin assembly and IL-2 production during T cell activation.

Objective In lupus nephritis, glomerular injury correlates poorly with progression to renal failure. While the tubulointerstitium is also commonly involved, the importance of such involvement is not well defined. Therefore, we developed a simple method to assess the prognostic utility of measuring tubulointerstitial inflammation (TI). Methods Sixty-eight SLE patients with lupus nephritis were enrolled. Tubulointerstitial lymphocytic infiltrates were quantitated both by anti-CD45 antibody staining and standard histochemical staining. Follow-up data was obtained and survival analysis carried out to determine which histologic features were predictive of subsequent renal failure. Results By CD45 staining TI was a common pathological finding, with 72% of biopsies having moderate or severe involvement. The extent of TI correlated with serum creatinine, but not with dsDNA antibodies, serum C3, or glomerular inflammation. TI severity, but not glomerular injury, identified patients at greater risk for renal failure (p=0.02). A high NIH chronicity index also identified patients at risk for renal failure. However, when the glomerular and tubulointerstitial subcomponents of the NIH chronicity index were separated in a bivariate model, only tubulointerstitial chronicity provided prognostic information (HR 2.2, 95% C.I. 1.3, 3.6, p=0.002 vs. HR 1.0, 95% C.I. 0.7, 1.5. p=0.97 for glomerular chronicity). Conclusion TI identifies lupus nephritis patients at greatest risk for progression to renal failure. The immunological mechanisms underlying TI may provide novel targets for therapeutic intervention.

During B lymphopoiesis, Igk recombination requires pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR) expression and escape from interleukin 7 receptor (IL-7R) signaling. By activating the transcription factor STAT5, IL-7R signaling maintains proliferation and represses Igk germline transcription by unknown mechanisms. We demonstrate that STAT5 tetramer bound the Igk intronic enhancer (Eκi), leading to recruitment of the histone methyltransferase Ezh2. Ezh2 marked H3K27me3 throughout Jκ to Cκ. In the absence of Ezh2, IL-7 failed to repress Igk germline transcription. H3K27me3 modifications were lost after termination of IL-7R–STAT5 signaling and E2A bound Eκi, resulting in acquisition of H3K4me1 and H4Ac. Genome-wide analyses revealed a STAT5 tetrameric binding motif associated with transcriptional repression. These data demonstrate how IL-7R signaling represses Igk germline transcription and provide a general model for STAT5-mediated epigenetic transcriptional repression.

Signals through the pre-B cell antigen receptor (pre-BCR) and IL-7 receptor (IL-7R) coordinate pre-B cell expansion with subsequent Igκ recombination. While many downstream effectors of each receptor are known, how they integrate to mediate development has remained unclear. Herein, we report that pre-BCR mediated activation of the Ras/MEK/ERK signaling pathway silences Ccnd3 transcription and coordinates cell cycle exit with the induction of E2A and the initiation of Igκ recombination. These activities are opposed by IL-7R mediated STAT 5 activation which promotes Ccnd3 expression and concomitantly inhibits Igκ transcription by binding to E κi and inhibiting E2A recruitment. Our data reveal how pre-BCR signaling poises pre-B cells to undergo differentiation upon escape from IL-7R signaling.

B lymphocyte antigen receptors, membrane immunoglobulins (mIg), function in focusing and internalization of antigen for subsequent presentation to T cells and in transmembrane transduction of signals leading to cell activation, anergy, or deletion. Until quite recently, the ability of this receptor to transduce signals in spite of a virtual lack of cytoplasmic structure, left a significant gap in our understanding of how it is coupled to cytoplasmic signal propagators. Studies conducted during the past five years have defined a mIg-associated protein complex homologous to the CD3 complex associated with the T cell antigen receptor. Components of this disulfide linked heterodimeric complex, Ig-alpha and Ig-beta, contain an approximately 26 residue sequence motif termed ARH1, also known as TAM, which binds to cytoplasmic effectors, including src-family tyrosine kinases, and contains all structural information needed for signal transduction. Receptor associated src-family kinases which are activated following receptor cross-linking, also associate with downstream effectors, including phospholipase C gamma (PLC gamma), p21ras. GTPase activating protein (GAP), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-k) and microtubule associate protein kinase (MAPk2). In some cases, these associations are induced by receptor cross-linking and lead directly to effector activation. The current literature indicates that these interactions may occur in sequence and culminate in the activation of three major pathways of signal propagation including those mediated by PLC gamma, p21ras and PI3-k. This chapter reviews various molecular aspects of the B cell antigen receptor complex, including extended structure of the complex, and receptor-effector interactions and their biologic consequences. Finally, an integrated model of antigen receptor signaling is presented.