{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T15:00:36Z","timestamp":1784300436433,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,21]],"date-time":"2024-10-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1729468800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Thymus resident B cells were described more than 40 years ago. In early human life, these cells are found predominantly in the medulla and overwhelmingly display an unswitched IgM+ phenotype. The reactivity of thymic IgM B cells, however, is still unclear.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Here, we generated 120 IgM-producing B cell clones from 3 separate thymus specimens obtained from infant, adolescent, and adult donors. Using flow cytometry and a unique high-dimensional ELISA platform, we investigated the clones\u2019 reactivity to apoptotic cells as well as to common chemical adducts exposed on modified amino acids and other macromolecules.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Regardless of the age, approximately 30-40% of thymic IgM B cells reacted to apoptotic cells. Further, 30-40% displayed reactivity to at least one adduct, including malondialdehyde, Homocysteine, and NEDD 8. Four distinct reactivity patterns were identified through this profiling. Notably, a significant association was observed between reactivity to apoptotic cells, and to one or more adducts, suggesting that the same determinants were recognized in both assays. Additionally, thymic IgM B cells reactive to adducts were more likely to recognize intra-nuclear or intra-cytoplasmic structures in Hep-2 cells as revealed by immunofluorescence staining.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion\/Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Collectively, our findings suggest that thymic IgM B cells actively uptake apoptotic bodies and cellular debris in the medulla by binding specific chemical adducts. This mechanism could underpin their antigen-presenting function and further support their role in T-cell negative selection.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2024.1462126","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,21]],"date-time":"2024-10-21T04:29:53Z","timestamp":1729484993000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Clones reactive to apoptotic cells and specific chemical adducts are prevalent among human thymic B cells"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Andrea","family":"Hertel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Talita","family":"Aguiar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shunya","family":"Mashiko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"N\u00fa\u00f1ez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carolina","family":"Moore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Baoshan","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mattea","family":"Ausmeier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Poloumi","family":"Roy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emmanuel","family":"Zorn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1034\/j.1600-065X.2002.18502.x","article-title":"The 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