Increase in the intracellular free calcium concentration is not an obligatory early event in lipopeptide-induced B-cell activation.

We recently showed that synthetic lipopeptides, analogues of the N-terminal region of bacterial lipoprotein, induce DNA synthesis in B lymphocytes in the absence of enhanced phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate hydrolysis and protein kinase C translocation. Here we demonstrate that lipopeptides are capable of inducing enhanced expression of MHC class II molecules and early increases in the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in B cells. However, they do not effect T cells. The increase in [Ca2+]i seen in B cells is due primarily to Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Since lipopeptides differ in their capability to induce early increases in [Ca2+]i and since the calcium response does not correlate with the ability of lipopeptides to induce proliferation and expression of MHC class II molecules, we suggest that this biochemical event may not be essential for lipopeptide-mediated B-cell activation.