Ja. Jayne et al., Differential in vitro maturation of hematopoietic stem cells from wild-type and immunoglobulin transgenic mice, CYTOK CELL, 5(4), 1999, pp. 195-204
During B-cell lymphopoiesis, hematopoietic stem cells commit to the B cell
lineage as monitored by the expression of phenotypic cell surface antigens
and the production of immunoglobulin chains. Two cytokines, interleukin-7 (
IL-7) and Flt-3 ligand (FL), appear to act in conjunction to drive this dev
elopment process. Using an in vitro, stroma-free culture system and these c
ytokines, the commitment of murine Sca(+) Lin- bone marrow cells to the B-c
ell lineage was examined with stem cells from immunoglobulin (Ig) transgeni
c and wild-type mice. After 12 days of culture in IL-7 and FL, stem cells f
rom wild-type animals had matured to express surface B220, CD19, CD43, Bp-1
and heat-stable antigen (HSA). These cells lacked detectable intracellular
mu chains while exhibiting partial D-J rearrangement. In contrast, Sca(+)L
in(-) cells from 18 transgenic mice that were cultured similarly expressed
B220, CD19, IgD, intracellular and surface mu, HSA but not CD43 or BP-1. Th
ese results suggest that expression of the Ig transgene during in vitro dev
elopment overcame a block in B-cell lymphopoiesis and recapitulated in vivo
events. Thus, IL-7 and FL treatment allowed uncommitted stem cells to prog
ress to the early pre-B-cell stage while similarly treated 18 transgenic ce
lls progressed completely to the mature B-cell stage.