New models to study plasma cells in mouse based on the restriction of IgJ expression to antibody secreting cells.

Abstract

Plasma cells (PC) represent the last stage of B cell development and are mainly characterized by their capacity of secreting large quantities of antibodies. They can be implicated in a broad-spectrum of neoplastic disorders, including Multiple Myeloma, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia or Monoclonal Gammopathy of Clinical Significance, all characterized by the abnormal proliferation of a PC clone. Up to date, there are only few reporter models to specifically follow PC development, migration and homing in mouse and none allowing the genetic manipulation of these cells. We created a transgenic mouse model in which a green fluorescent protein gene was placed under the control of the well-characterized regulatory elements of the murine immunoglobulin J (IgJ) chain locus. Thanks to this model, we demostrated that IgJ is an early and specific marker of antibody secreting cells (ASCs) and appears before the expression of CD138, making it a good candidate to targeted genetic modifications of plasma cells. Therefore, a conditional deletion model using a Tamoxifen-dependent Cre recombinase inserted into the IgJ locus was characterized. Using a reporter model, we showed that, in contrast with existing models of B cell lineage genetic modification, the activity of the CRE recombinase only affects ASCs after tamoxifen treatment. Additionally, we used this model in a functional in vitro assay, to show that Ig modifications directly affect plasma cell survival. These two new mouse models, IgJGFP and IgJCreERT2 represent exquisite tools to study PCs. In pathology, the IgJCreERT2model opens new frontiers for in vivo genetic modifications of PCs to better reflect the pathophysiology of PC-related diseases.