Characterization of the Spleen B-Cell Compartment at the Early and Late Blood-Stage Plasmodium chabaudi Malaria

Polyclonal B-cell activation is a feature of the early spleen cell response to blood-stage Plasmodium chabaudi malaria. Immunity to blood-stage malaria is guaranteed by the generation of B cells able to produce parasite-specific antibodies mainly from the immunoglobulin (Ig)G2a isotype. In the present study, we characterized the spleen B-cell compartment during blood-stage P. chabaudi infection. The numbers of B220 + and B220 LOW CD138 + (plasma) cells increased sharply between days 4 and 7 post-infection (p.i.). At this time B220 + cells expressed surface (s)IgM, but nearly all B220 LOW CD138 + cells