RESTRICTION OF GENE EXPRESSION IN B LYMPHOCYTES AND THEIR PROGENY

Abstract

To determine whether or not B lymphocytes are committed to the synthesis of a single immunoglobulin heavy chain isotype during their differentiation into plasma cells, rabbit lymph node and Peyer's patch cells were separated into populations with and without membrane IgM, using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS). The potential of the µ-bearing (µ+) and non-µ-bearing (µ-) cells to give rise to plasma cells both in vivo after transfer into irradiated recipients and in vitro in the presence of pokeweed mitogen was assessed by immunofluorescence techniques, and the relative proportions of the cytoplasmic Ig-stained cells (CSC) synthesizing each class of heavy chains were determined.