Oligomerization of Vibrio cholerae hemolysin induces CXCR3 upregulation and activation of B-1a cell.

The hemolysin oligomer promotes the proliferation of B-1a cells and the expression of CD25, which is indicative of cell activation, on B-1a cells. The upregulation of CD86 induced by the oligomer showed its selective bias for the B7-2 member of B7 family while the monomer failed to induce these effects. The oligomer induced the expression of CXCR3, associated with B cell activation, while the monomer induced the expression of CXCL4, a powerful angiostatic chemokine. In conclusion, we found that B-1a cells responded to the apoptogenic monomer by expressing CXCL4, whereas oligomerization of the immunogen induced CXCR3 to shift the response towards activation.