Whole genome transcription profile of antigen receptor activated B cells

To search for rapid changes in gene expression following BCR activation, we performed DNA microarray analysis of activated splenic B cells with and without anti-IgM treatment for 3 hour. The expression of a remarkably large set of genes differed significantly. Primary B-lymphocytes were purified from mouse spleens and stimulated with IL-4 (Pepro-Tech) and CD40L (R&D Systems) as indicated at 5 ng/ml and 200 ng/ml, respectively. The BCR of stimulated cells was activated by incubation with goat F(ab’)2 anti-mouse IgM (Southern Biotechnologies) at 2.5 μg/ml for 3 hour.