Abstract EN:

Maturation of the B cell response to peptide antigens mostly depends on the limiting amount of T cell help. Lt depends on both, the availability of Ag-specifie T cells and on the ability of Ag-binding B cells to efficiently recruit them. We showed that B-cell Ag receptor (BCR) engagement on ali functional subsets of mature B ce lis selectively induces the production of MIP-lα/ β and fractalkine, chemokines which elicit migratory response in CD4+ T cells of memory/etfector phenotype. The blocking experiments strongly suggest that BCR-activated B cells produce other chemokines with activity towards T cells by. In vitro, fractalkine expression in B cells was also induced by CD40 triggering. In situ, it was found in germinal centers of secondary follicles and dendritic cells (DC) within T cell area. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that within the B cell lineage, CCR6 chemokine receptor (MIP-3α/LARC β and -defensins receptor) is a marker of peripheral mature B cell pool but is absent within in central pro-, pre-B compartement and germinal center B cells and plasma cells in the periphery. In Boyden-type microchamber chemotaxis and F-actin polimerization assays, MIP-3α is a potent B-cell hemoattractant but seems to be only functional on CCR6(high) memory B cells. MIP-3α responsiveness in B cell is strongly enhanced by INFα, the cytokine of the innate immune response. Altogether, these data provide new insides in the role of chemokines gradients and direct cell-cell interactions during maturation of the B cell reponse.