© The Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007/2000/3/781/ $5.00
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Volume 191, Number 5, March 6, 2000 781-794
A Dual Role for Src Homology 2 Domaincontaining Inositol-5-Phosphatase (SHIP) in Immunity: Aberrant Development and Enhanced Function of B Lymphocytes in SHIP-/- Mice
Cheryl D. Helgasona,
Christian P. Kalberera,
Jacqueline E. Damena,
Suzanne M. Chappela,
Nicolas Pineaulta,
Gerald Krystala,b, and
R. Keith Humphriesa,c
a Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada
b Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B5, Canada
c Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B5, Canada
Correspondence to:
R. Keith Humphries, Terry Fox Laboratory, 601 W. 10th Ave., Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1L3, Canada. Tel:604-877-6070 Fax:604-877-0712 E-mail:keith{at}terryfox.ubc.ca.
Released online: 28 February 2000
In this report, we demonstrate that the Src homology 2 domaincontaining inositol-5-phosphatase (SHIP) plays a critical role in regulating both B cell development and responsiveness to antigen stimulation. SHIP-/- mice exhibit a transplantable alteration in B lymphoid development that results in reduced numbers of precursor B (fraction C) and immature B cells in the bone marrow. In vitro, purified SHIP-/- B cells exhibit enhanced proliferation in response to B cell receptor stimulation in both the presence and absence of Fc
receptor IIB coligation. This enhancement is associated with increased phosphorylation of both mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt, as well as with increased survival and cell cycling. SHIP-/- mice manifest elevated serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels and an exaggerated IgG response to the T cellindependent type 2 antigen trinitrophenyl Ficoll. However, only altered B cell development was apparent upon transplantation into nonobese diabeticsevere combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice. The in vitro hyperresponsiveness, together with the in vivo findings, suggests that SHIP regulates B lymphoid development and antigen responsiveness by both intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms.
Key Words:
signal transduction, B cell receptor, Fc
RIIB, immunoglobulin, antigen response