GC and plasma cell differentiation are restricted to the HEL⁻ B cells.

<p>Splenocytes were purified from SW_HEL mice at 0 and 14 dpi and analyzed by FACS. Cells were gated on (A) HEL⁺ or (B) HEL⁻ B cells for phenotype analysis, monitoring the frequency of GC (CD95⁺ GL-7⁺) and plasma cells (IgM⁻ CD138⁺). Top parts of the figures show representative FACS plots, bottom parts are the compilation of data obtained from different SW_HEL mice (GC: day 0 n = 12; day 14 n = 16/Plasma cells: day 0 n = 10; day 14 n = 13). (C) Germinal center cells in C57BL/6 B cells and HEL⁻ B cells harbor an equivalent frequency of YFP⁺ cells. Frequency of YFP⁺ cells in GC cells was evaluated 14 dpi by gating on the CD95⁺ GL-7⁺ population from total B cells of C57BL/6 mice (left dot plot and diamonds, n = 12) or from HEL⁻ B cells of SW_HEL mice (right dot plot and circles, n = 16). The bar represents the average percentage.