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Sci. Signal., 19 April 2011
Vol. 4, Issue 169, p. pe21
[DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2001987]

PERSPECTIVES

pERKing Up the BLIMP in Plasma Cell Differentiation

David M. Allman and Michael P. Cancro*

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, John Morgan Building, 3620 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Abstract: The intracellular pathways that induce the differentiation of naïve B cells into antibody-secreting plasma cells remain poorly defined. A new study now provides surprising evidence that the activation of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) is pivotal for inducing the transcriptional repressor B lymphocyte–induced maturation protein 1 (Blimp-1), which is required for plasma cell differentiation. Consequently, ERK-deficient B cells were unable to generate plasma cells effectively. This is an unexpected result, because previous work has shown that ERK signaling functions chiefly to induce cell division, whereas plasma cells are considered to be nondividing, terminally differentiated cells. This finding not only reveals an important signaling pathway that underlies antibody-mediated immunity but also raises important questions about the varying roles that ERK, and perhaps other kinases, may play in different biological contexts.

* Corresponding author. E-mail, cancro{at}mail.med.upenn.edu

Citation: D. M. Allman, M. P. Cancro, pERKing Up the BLIMP in Plasma Cell Differentiation. Sci. Signal. 4, pe21 (2011).

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
IL-2 Requirement for Human Plasma Cell Generation: Coupling Differentiation and Proliferation by Enhancing MAPK-ERK Signaling.
S. Le Gallou, G. Caron, C. Delaloy, D. Rossille, K. Tarte, and T. Fest (2012)
J. Immunol. 189, 161-173
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