B lymphocytes mediate Fas-dependent cytotoxicity in MRL/lpr mice

The Fas/Fas ligand (FasL) pathway is one of the two major effector mechanisms of T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. To prevent nonspecific killing by lymphoid cells, FasL expression on the cell surface of immune effector cells is strictly regulated. However, MRL/lpr autoimmune-prone mice massively overexpress FasL on their T lymphocytes, which render them able to kill Fas⁺ targets in vitro and in vivo. It is surprising that we show in the present work that B lymphocytes purified from MRL/lpr spleen eels express FasL to the same extent as T cells at the mRNA and protein level. These B cells are potent cytotoxic effectors against Fas⁺ but not Fas^- targets. The B lymphocyte effectors were used ex vivo without any in vitro activation by B cell stimuli. Furthermore, we found that MRL/lpr B lymphocytes have the same cytotoxic potential as natural killer cells, which have been characterized as potent, Fas-mediated, cytotoxic effectors. The level of membrane-anchored FasL increases with the size of the B cell and cell-surface activation marker CD69 expression, indicating that the expression of FasL is upregulated in parallel with the activation state of the B cell. The activated B cell population contained the major cytotoxic activity, and a minor part was associated with CD138/Syndecan-1⁺ plasma cells.