Cutting Edge: Endogenous IFN-β Regulates Survival and Development of Transitional B Cells

The transitional stage of B cell development is a formative stage in the spleen where autoreactive specificities are censored as B cells gain immune competence, but the intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulating survival of transitional stage 1 (T1) B cells are unknown. We report that B cell expression of IFN-beta is required for optimal survival and TLR7 responses of transitional B cells in the spleen and was overexpressed in T1 B cells from BXD2 lupus-prone mice. Single-cell gene expression analysis of B6 Ifnb(+/+) versus B6 Ifnb(-/-) T1 B cells revealed heterogeneous expression of Ifnb in wild-type B cells and distinct gene expression patterns associated with endogenous IFN-beta. Single-cell analysis of BXD2 T1 B cells revealed that Ifnb is expressed in early T1 B cell development with subsequent upregulation of Tlr7 and Ifna1. Together, these data suggest that T1 B cell expression of IFN-beta plays a key role in regulating responsiveness to external factors.