Transcriptional profiling of mouse B cell terminal differentiation defines a signature for antibody-secreting plasma cells. Mus musculus

Upon encounter with antigen, mature B cells undergo complex changes in their physiological state and anatomical localization, and initiate a differentiation process that ultimately produces antibody-secreting cells (ASCs), a major effector population of the immune system. To better characterize this process we have defined the transcriptome of all stages of B cell terminal differentiation by performing a large scale RNA-seq experiment. This analysis provides a molecular signature of ASC populations that highlights the stark transcriptional divide between B cells and plasma cells, and also enables the demarcation ASCs based on location, cell cycle status and maturity. The gene expression changes strongly correlated with cell division history and the acquisition of permissive histone modifications and were clearly evident in the small subset of regulatory genes containing super-enhancers. These findings highlight the core transcriptional program that guides B cell terminal differentiation and the production of antibody, essential processes in the immune response. Overall design: Transcriptional profiling of ex vivo and in vitro B cell and plasma cell populations in mice using RNA sequencing