BACKGROUND We previously showed that mice exposed to cigarette smoke for three weeks exhibit loss of bone marrow B cells at the Pro-B-to-pre-B cell transition, but the reason for this is unclear. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, has been used as a chemopreventive agent to reduce adverse effects of cigarette smoke exposure on lung function. Here we determined whet...

abstract the feminist movement in the united states like other countries has tried to establish equality for women. from the first attempts to gain constitutional right for vote, up to the current radical demands, feminists have struggled to make changes in the u.s. party politics and obtain their rights within the parties. one of the important issues in which women played a key role in party p...

In autoimmune diseases, toll-like receptor (TLR)-stimulated pro-inflammatory IL-6-secreting B cells exert pathogenic roles. Similarly, B cell Fc receptor-like 4 (FcRL4) expression amplifies TLR stimulation, and in rheumatoid arthritis patients, FcRL4 expression identifies a pro-inflammatory B cell subset. B cells from HIV-infected subjects also express heightened levels of FcRL4 and secrete hig...

Commitment to B-lymphocyte differentiation is characterized by expression of the B220 form of the common leukocyte antigen (Ly-5) and D-JH rearrangement of the Ig heavy chain gene complex. B-lineage progenitor cells, or pro-B cells, that have initiated Ig gene rearrangement, but do not express detectable Ig heavy or light chain protein, have recently been shown to retain substantial capacity fo...

Pax5 is a critical regulator of B-cell commitment. Here, we identified direct Pax5 target genes by streptavidin-mediated ChIP-chip analysis of pro-B cells expressing in vivo biotinylated Pax5. By binding to promoters and enhancers, Pax5 directly regulates the expression of multiple transcription factor, cell surface receptor and signal transducer genes. One of the newly identified enhancers was...

Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated phosphodiester and phosphorothioate oligonucleotides were used in four-color flow cytometry with murine bone marrow cells stained with monoclonal antibody specific for the differentiation markers B220, S7 (CD43), and BP-1 to show possible stage-specific oligonucleotide uptake. Relatively low uptake was observed among pre-Pro- and early Pro-B cells. L...

Pro-B cells are early B-cell progenitors that retain macrophage potential. We have studied MHC class II molecules and invariant chain inducibility on four class II negative mouse pro-B-cell clones. We analyzed the effects of IL-4 and IFN-gamma, which represent the major inducers of class II in the B-lymphoid and monocytic/macrophage lineages, respectively. After 48 h of treatment with either cy...

Our previous results showed that decreased numbers of pre-B cells in aged mice were associated with decreases in surrogate light chain, lambda5, and transcription factors E47/E12. In the present paper, we have analyzed IL-7-expanded populations of pro-B/early pre-B cells to evaluate whether the age-related reduction in E47 DNA-binding could be attributed to reduced E47 expression and/or increas...