B cell receptor and BAFF receptor signaling regulation of B cell homeostasis

J Immunol. 2009 Sep 15;183(6):3561-7. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.0800933.

Abstract

B lymphocyte homeostasis depends on tonic and induced BCR signaling and receptors sensitive to trophic factors, such as B cell-activating factor receptor (BAFF-R or BR3) during development and maintenance. This review will discuss growing evidence suggesting that the signaling mechanisms that maintain B cell survival and metabolic fitness during selection at transitional stages and survival after maturation rely on cross-talk between BCR and BR3 signaling. Recent findings have also begun to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying this crosstalk. In this review I also propose a model for regulating the amplitude of BCR signaling by a signal amplification loop downstream of the BCR involving Btk and NF-kappaB that may facilitate BCR-dependent B cell survival as well as its functional coupling to BR3 for the growth and survival of B lymphocytes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor / physiology*
  • B-Lymphocyte Subsets / cytology*
  • Homeostasis
  • Humans
  • Receptor Cross-Talk
  • Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / physiology*
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor
  • Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell