B Cell-Activating Factor Enhances Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-10 Production by ODN-Activated Human B Cells

Abstract

We aim to investigate the additive value of B cell-activating factor (BAFF) when added to oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN)-activated B cells with respect to TLR-9, CD69, MHC-II expression, IL-6 and IL-10 secretion and B cell cycling. Therefore, B cells from healthy individuals were incubated under the following conditions: (1) B cells with medium, (2) B cells with ODN 0.5μm, (3) B cells with BAFF 20μm and (4) B cells with both ODN 0.5μm and BAFF 20μm. We found that addition of BAFF did not enhance the expression of TLR-9, CD69 and MHC-II in ODN-activated B cells. Incubation of B cells with BAFF and ODN together leads to a marked elevation of IL-6 and IL-10 levels compared to ODN alone. Synthesis and mitosis were higher in B cells stimulated by BAFF than in B cells stimulated by ODN. These findings suggest that both BAFF and TLR-9 contribute independently to B cell function. © 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Immunology © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.