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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. B Cell Biology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1567788
This article is part of the Research Topic Thymus Research and Development: A New Look to the Past, Current Knowledge, and Future Perspectives View all 9 articles
Early-life Homeostatic Differentiation of Thymus-resident B cells into Memory B cells
Provisionally accepted
Justine Castañeda 1
Lilian Poblete 2
Mariana V Rosemblatt 3
Daniela Sauma 2,4
Mario Rosemblatt 3,4,5
Maria Rosa Bono 4,5*
Sarah Nuñez 3,4*- 1 Escuela de Postgrado, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- 2 Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- 3 Facultad de Medicina y Ciencia, Universidad San Sebastián, Sede Los Leones, Santiago, Chile
- 4 Centro Ciencia & Vida, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
- 5 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
The thymus hosts various antigen-presenting cells, including B cells, which exhibit an activated phenotype even under steady-state conditions, indicating continuous local stimulation. In this study, we identify class-switched memory B cells within the thymus, some of which undergo immunoglobulin class switching to IgG2b and IgA, and express typical memory markers CD73 and PD-L2. Thymic memory B cell differentiation begins in neonatal mice, preceding the appearance of class-switched B cells in other peripheral lymphoid organs. Notably, exposure to environmental antigens does not influence their differentiation. Additionally, cognate interaction with immature CD4 single-positive thymocytes is crucial for the development of memory B cells in the thymus. Our findings demonstrate that the thymus supports the local differentiation of memory B cells through a steady-state process that is independent of foreign antigen stimulation and driven by interactions with developing T cells.
Keywords: Thymic B cells, memory B cell differentiation, Ig class-switching, T cell development, negative selection
Received: 28 Jan 2025; Accepted: 12 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Castañeda, Poblete, Rosemblatt, Sauma, Rosemblatt, Bono and Nuñez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Maria Rosa Bono, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, 7800003, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
Sarah Nuñez, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencia, Universidad San Sebastián, Sede Los Leones, Santiago, Chile
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