Ontogeny of human IgE‐expressing B cells and plasma cells

Background IgE‐expressing (IgE+) plasma cells (PCs) provide a continuous source of allergen‐specific IgE that is central to allergic responses. The extreme sparsity of IgE+ cells in vivo has confined their study almost entirely to mouse models. Objective To characterize the development pathway of human IgE+ PCs and to determine the ontogeny of human IgE+ PCs. Methods To generate human IgE+ cells, we cultured tonsil B cells with IL‐4 and anti‐CD40. Using FACS and RT‐PCR, we examined the phenotype of generated IgE+ cells, the capacity of tonsil B‐cell subsets to generate IgE+ PCs and the class switching pathways involved. Results We have identified three phenotypic stages of IgE+ PC development pathway, namely (i) IgE+germinal centre (GC)‐like B cells, (ii) IgE+PC‐like ‘plasmablasts’ and (iii) IgE+PCs. The same phenotypic stages were also observed for IgG1+ cells. Total tonsil B cells give rise to IgE+ PCs by direct and sequential switching, whereas the isolated GC B‐cell fraction, the main source of IgE+ PCs, generates IgE+ PCs by sequential switching. PC differentiation of IgE+ cells is accompanied by the down‐regulation of surface expression of the short form of membrane IgE (mIgES), which is homologous to mouse mIgE, and the up‐regulation of the long form of mIgE (mIgEL), which is associated with an enhanced B‐cell survival and expressed in humans, but not in mice. Conclusion Generation of IgE+ PCs from tonsil GC B cells occurs mainly via sequential switching from IgG. The mIgEL/mIgES ratio may be implicated in survival of IgE+ B cells during PC differentiation and allergic disease.