Leishmania major-specific B cells are necessary for Th2 cell development and susceptibility to L. major LV39 in BALB/c mice.

B lymphocytes are considered to play a minimal role in host defense against Leishmania major. In this study, the contribution of B cells to susceptibility to infection with different strains of L. major was investigated in BALB/c mice lacking mature B cells due to the disruption of the IgM transmembrane domain (microMT). Whereas BALB/c microMT remained susceptible to infection with L. major IR173 and IR75, they were partially resistant to infection with L. major LV39. Adoptive transfer of naive B cells into BALB/c microMT mice before infection restored susceptibility to infection with L. major LV39, demonstrating a role for B cells in susceptibility to infection with this parasite. In contrast, adoptive transfer of B cells that express an IgM/IgD specific for hen egg lysozyme (HEL), an irrelevant Ag, did not restore disease progression in BALB/c microMT mice infected with L. major LV39. This finding was likely due to the inability of HEL Tg B cells to internalize and present Leishmania Ags to specific T cells. Furthermore, specific Ig did not contribute to disease progression as assessed by transfer of immune serum in BALB/c microMT mice. These data suggest that direct Ag presentation by specific B cells and not Ig effector functions is involved in susceptibility of BALB/c mice to infection with L. major LV39.