Requirement of 8-mercaptoguanosine as a costimulus for IL-4-dependent mu to gamma1 class switch recombination in CD38-activated B cells.

Mature B-2 cells expressing surface IgM and IgD proliferate upon stimulation by CD38, CD40 or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and differentiate into IgG1-producing plasma cells in the presence of cytokines. The process of class switch recombination (CSR) from IgM to other isotypes is highly regulated by cytokines and activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). Blimp-1 and XBP-1 play an essential role in the terminal differentiation of switched B-2 cells to Ig-producing plasma cells.