Nur77 links chronic antigen stimulation to B cell tolerance by restricting the survival of self-reactive B cells in the periphery

C Tan, JL Mueller, M Noviski, J Huizar… - The Journal of …, 2019 - journals.aai.org
C Tan, JL Mueller, M Noviski, J Huizar, D Lau, A Dubinin, A Molofsky, PC Wilson
The Journal of Immunology, 2019journals.aai.org
Abstract Nur77 (Nr4a1) belongs to a small family of orphan nuclear receptors that are rapidly
induced by BCR stimulation, yet little is known about its function in B cells. We have
previously characterized a reporter of Nr4a1 transcription, Nur77-eGFP, in which GFP
expression faithfully detects Ag encounter by B cells in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we
report that Nur77 expression correlates with the degree of self-reactivity, counterselection,
and anergy among individual B cell clones from two distinct BCR transgenic mouse models …
Abstract
Nur77 (Nr4a1) belongs to a small family of orphan nuclear receptors that are rapidly induced by BCR stimulation, yet little is known about its function in B cells. We have previously characterized a reporter of Nr4a1 transcription, Nur77-eGFP, in which GFP expression faithfully detects Ag encounter by B cells in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we report that Nur77 expression correlates with the degree of self-reactivity, counterselection, and anergy among individual B cell clones from two distinct BCR transgenic mouse models but is dispensable for all of these tolerance mechanisms. However, we identify a role for Nur77 in restraining survival of self-reactive B cells in the periphery under conditions of competition for a limited supply of the survival factor BAFF. We find that Nur77 deficiency results in the progressive accumulation of self-reactive B cells in the mature repertoire with age and is sufficient to break B cell tolerance in V H 3H9 H chain transgenic mice. We thus propose that Nur77 is upregulated in self-reactive B cells in response to chronic Ag stimulation and selectively restricts the survival of these cells, gradually pruning self-reactivity from the mature repertoire to impose a novel layer of peripheral B cell tolerance.
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