Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1/CD31) is associated with a naïve B-cell phenotype in human tonsils

In B cells, signaling through the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) is negatively modulated by the co-ligation of immunoglobulin (Ig)-immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif (ITIM)-bearing molecules such as FcgammaRIIB1, B-cell transmembrane protein CD72, paired immunoglobulin-like receptor PIR-B, leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor-1 (LAIR-1), Ig-like transcript ILT2, biliary glycoprotein BGP-1 and B-cell co-receptor CD22. The co-expression of multiple Ig-ITIM receptors may provide B cells with different mechanisms of regulating inhibitory pathways at different stages of differentiation. In this study, we have examined the expression of a newly defined Ig-ITIM receptor, PECAM-1 (CD31) on human B-cells. Human tonsillar B cells were purified using negative selection by depleting T cells with a combination of monoclonal antibodies and magnetic bead separation. Following purification, the pattern of PECAM-1 expression was analyzed in B-cell subpopulations using two- and three-colour fluorescence. To complement this work, PECAM-1 localization in the context of distinct areas of human tonsil was defined by immunohistochemical analysis of tonsil sections. Finally to investigate somatic mutation, Ig variable (V) region genes belonging to the nonpolymorphic VH6 family were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), subcloned and sequenced from sort-purified CD19+ PECAM-1+ and CD19+ PECAM-1- B cells. Our results demonstrate that PECAM-1 is associated with an unstimulated resting B-cell phenotype, localization to the follicular mantle and marginal zones of human tonsil and expression of unmutated Ig V region genes. These studies suggest that PECAM-1 appears on the cell surface at the naive B-cell stage and is lost as B cells differentiate into memory cells, indicating that PECAM-1 is primarily involved in naive or immature B-cell function.