Characterization of gene expression in antibody secreting cells

The CD19 positive antibody secreting cells (ASC) in both bone marrow (BM) have the capacity to provide immune memory in addition to cells traditionally considered long-lived, the CD19-negative BM ASC. We performed flow cytometry (FCM) immunophenotyping, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for cell subset isolation, ELISpot assays detecting the isotype of antibody secretion as well as antibodies against vaccine derived antigens, and comparative gene expression analyses of CD19- ASC, CD19+ ASC, CD20- B cells, and CD20+ B cells from BM. The findings may aid in the understanding of the differential cell subsets created through vaccination and lead to improved vaccine strategies and production. FACS sorted tissue B cells and antibody secreting cell subset gene expression. We sought to compare gene expression in antibody secreting cells (ASC) subsets purified from bone marrow, as defined by the presence or absence of their cell-surface markers based on fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The subsets of interest are CD19+ ASC (n=9), CD19- ASC (n=5), and CD20+ B cells (n=6), and CD20- B cells (n=7).