B cells and microvesicles

   B cells are an important part of our immune system because these cells "grow up" to be the antibody-producince cells of the immune system. Without antibodies, our bodies are not able to fight many infections. But if our body doesn't eliminate antibodies that react to allergens or our own proteins, we get allergies or auto-immune diseases. So it is important to understand how B cells develop from early precursor cells to fully-formed antibody-producing factories.


     We have recently found that developing B cells secrete very small vesicles, called microvesicles, when a receptor called CD24 is stimulated. These microvesicles are pinched off the surface of the cell and can be used to move CD24 between different cells. We know that CD24 stimulation causes B cells to kill themselves! So what do these microvesicles do? What do they carry? How are they generated? These are our next questions.


Funding for this project is from NSERC and MUN, with student support from BHCRI and MUN.



Ayre, DC, Elstner, M, Smith, NC, Moores, ES, Hogan, AM, and Christian, SL* (2015) Immature B cells Dynamically Regulate CD24 Expression and Release CD24-Containing Microvesicles Following Antibody Stimulation. Immunology. 217–233.


Ayre, D.C., Chute, I.C., Joy, A.P., Barnett, D.A., Hogan, A.M., Grüll, M.P., Peña-Castillo, L., Lang, A.S., Lewis, S.M., and Christian, S.L. (2017). CD24 induces changes to the surface receptors of B cell microvesicles with variable effects on their RNA and protein cargo. Scientific Reports 7, 8642.