Transcription factor Ascl2 promotes geminal center B cell responses through directly regulating AID transcription

During germinal center (GC) reactions, activated B cells undergo clonal expansion and functional maturation to produce high-affinity antibodies, and differentiate into plasma and memory cells, accompanied with class-switching recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM). Activation-induced deaminase (AID) is responsible for both CSR and SHM in GC B cells. Transcriptional mechanisms underlying AID regulation and GC B cell reactions are still not well understood. Here, we show that expression of Ascl2 transcription factor is upregulated in GC B cells. Ectopic expression of Ascl2 promotes GC B cell development and enhances antibody production as well as affinity maturation. Conversely, deletion of Ascl2 in B cells impairs the germinal center response. Genome-wide analysis reveals that Ascl2 directly regulates GC B cell-related genes, including AID; ectopic expression of AID in Ascl2-deficient B cells rescues their antibody defects. Thus, Ascl2 regulates AID transcription and promotes germinal center B cell responses. Overall design: We constructed RVKM-Ascl2 retrovirus, and performed RNA-seq using transfected in vitro cultured activated B cells. Also, ChIP-seq of GC B cells from draining LN of KLH immunized C57BL/6 mice.