Presentation of antigen by B cells: functional dependence on radiation dose, interleukins, cellular activation, and differential glycosylation.

Whether resting B cells can present antigen to T cells is controversial. Several factors can influence the outcome of an assessment of the presenting function of resting B cells: the method of purifying resting B cells and maintaining them in culture without altering their resting state, the sensitivity of resting B cells to gamma-irradiation, the activation state of the T cells used to assess presenting function, and the requirement for exogenous interleukin 1. We have examined all of these variables and find that one adherent antigen-presenting cell is functionally equivalent to four LPS-activated B cells and to 1000 resting B cells. In addition, we have examined the potential functional relevance of the differential glycosylation of Ia molecules on resting B cells compared with adherent antigen-presenting cells. Altering the surface glycosylation of resting B cells by neuraminidase treatment results in a 25-fold increase in B cell antigen presentation without altering their resting state. More important, among antigen-presenting cells the effect of neuraminidase is limited to resting B cells. It also appears to involve a restricting element such as the Ia molecule rather than total cell surface charge, because neuraminidase treatment has no effect on the capacity of resting B cells to serve as accessory cells in the Con A response.