To increase antibody affinity against pathogens, positively selected GC-B cells initiate cell division in the light zone (LZ) of germinal centers (GCs). Among these, higher-affinity clones migrate to the dark zone (DZ) and vigorously proliferate by utilizing energy provided by oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). However, it remains unknown how positively selected GC-B cells adapt their metabolism for cell division in the glycolysis-dominant, cell cycle arrest-inducing, hypoxic LZ microenvironment. Here, we show that microRNA (miR)-155 mediates metabolic reprogramming during positive selection to protect high-affinity clones. Mechanistically, miR-155 regulates H3K36me2 levels in hypoxic conditions by directly repressing the histone lysine demethylase, Kdm2a, whose expression increases in response to hypoxia. The miR-155-Kdm2a interaction is crucial for enhancing OXPHOS through optimizing the expression of vital nuclear mitochondrial genes under hypoxia, thereby preventing excessive production of reactive oxygen species and subsequent apoptosis. Thus, miR-155-mediated epigenetic regulation promotes mitochondrial fitness in high-affinity GC-B cells, ensuring their expansion and consequently affinity maturation.
© 2024. The Author(s).

B cell responses are critical for antiviral immunity. However, a comprehensive picture of antigen-specific B cell differentiation, clonal proliferation, and dynamics in different organs after infection is lacking. Here, by combining single-cell RNA and B cell receptor (BCR) sequencing of antigen-specific cells in lymph nodes, spleen, and lungs after influenza infection in mice, we identify several germinal center (GC) B cell subpopulations and organ-specific differences that persist over the course of the response. We discover transcriptional differences between memory cells in lungs and lymphoid organs and organ-restricted clonal expansion. Remarkably, we find significant clonal overlap between GC-derived memory and plasma cells. By combining BCR-mutational analyses with monoclonal antibody (mAb) expression and affinity measurements, we find that memory B cells are highly diverse and can be selected from both low- and high-affinity precursors. By linking antigen recognition with transcriptional programming, clonal proliferation, and differentiation, these finding provide important advances in our understanding of antiviral immunity.
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How precursor frequencies and antigen affinities impact interclonal B cell competition is a particularly relevant issue for candidate germline-targeting HIV vaccine designs because of the in vivo rarity of naive B cells that recognize broadly neutralizing epitopes. Knowing the frequencies and affinities of HIV-specific VRC01-class naive human B cells, we transferred B cells with germline VRC01 B cell receptors into congenic recipients to elucidate the roles of precursor frequency, antigen affinity, and avidity on B cell responses following immunization. All three factors were interdependently limiting for competitive success of VRC01-class B cells. In physiological high-affinity conditions using a multivalent immunogen, rare VRC01-class B cells successfully competed in germinal centers (GC), underwent extensive somatic hypermutation, and differentiated into memory B cells. The data reveal dominant influences of precursor frequency, affinity, and avidity for interclonal GC competition and indicate that germline-targeting immunogens can overcome these challenges with high-affinity multimeric designs.
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The chemokine (C motif) receptor 1 (XCR1) and its ligandXCL1 have been intensively studied in the mouse and human immune systems. Here, we determined the molecular characteristics of cattle XCR1 and XCL1 and their distribution among peripheral blood cells. Cattle XCR1 mRNA expression was mainly restricted to CD26+CADM1+CD205+MHCII+CD11b- cells in blood that were otherwise lineage marker negative (lin-); these represented a subset of classic dendritic cells (DCs), not plasmacytoid DCs. Some of these DCs expressed CD11a, CD44, CD80 and CD86, but they did not express CD4, CD8, CD163 or CD172a. Cattle XCL1 was expressed in quiescent NK cells and in activated CD8+ T cells. Cattle XCR1+ DCs migrated chemotactically in response to mouse, but not to human, XCL1. The distribution characters of cattle XCR1 and XCL1 suggested a vital role in regulation of acquired immune responses and indicated a potential for a DC targeted veterinary vaccine in cattle using XCL1 fused antigens.