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Original Article |
klaus.rajewsky{at}mac.genetik.uni-koeln.de
To study homeostasis of peripheral B lymphocytes in the absence of B cell influx from the bone marrow, we generated a mouse mutant in which the recombination-activating gene (RAG)-2 can be inducibly deleted. When RAG-2 was deleted at the age of 8–10 wk, splenic naive follicular B cells were gradually lost over a year of observation, with a half-life of
4.5 mo. By contrast, the pool of marginal zone B cells in the spleen and of B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity were kept at normal level. In lymph nodes, 90% of the B cells were lost within 4 mo, and B cell numbers remained constant thereafter. Mice in which RAG-2 was deleted at birth maintained a small population of activated B cells with an increased proportion of marginal zone B cells. Additionally, an increase of the pool of IgM secreting cells and B-1a cells was observed.
Key Words: RAG-2 • mouse • marginal zone B cells • follicular B cells • half-life
© 2001 The Rockefeller University Press
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