Immunologic abnormality in NZB/W Fl mice. Thymus-independent expansion of B cells responding to interleukin-6

We have previously reported that B cell abnormality in NZB/W Fl mice developed independently of thymus. Here we examined further whether B cells from NZB/W F1 mice respond to interleukin-6 (IL-6), a factor for terminal differentiation of B cells. When freshly isolated splenic B cells were incubated for 5 days in the presence of human IL-6, an increased production of both IgM and IgG, including anti-DNA antibody, was evident in NZB/W Fl mice; there was no increase in BALB/c mice. A magnitude of augmentation in IgG but not IgM production by IL-6 became more apparent in older NZB/W F1 mice. The increased immunoglobulin production seen with IL-6 was neutralized by treatment with rabbit anti-recombinant human IL-6 antibody. As B cells from athymic NZB/W Fl nude mice also responded to IL-6, it was suggested that B cells in NZB/W Fl mice differentiated into the IL-6-responding state in a thymus-independent manner. This B cell abnormality may be associated with the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease in NZB/W Fl mice.