B‐cell subsets in blood and lymphoid organs in Macaca fascicularis

Background: Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) are widely used animal models in biomedical research. However, the phenotypic characteristics of cynomolgus monkey (CM) B cells in peripheral blood (PB) and lymphoid organs are poorly understood. Methods: FACS analyses of PB-, spleen-, lymph node (LN)-, and bone marrow (BM)-derived B cells were performed. Results: CM peripheral blood B cells have a smaller fraction of CD27 (naive) cells (∼40%), as compared to human blood samples (∼70%). Similar to humans, an early activation marker, CD23, is expressed more on CD27 CM naive B cells, as compared to CD27 + B cells. The mean fraction of B cells exhibiting a memory phenotype is similar to that seen in human blood. Unlike humans, CM blood contains a subset of CD20 + + CD80 + CD21 - IgM + / -CD27 + CD19 + FSC + + BAFF-R l o w B cells that are likely of germinal center origin. Thus, CM blood contains (i) a higher percentage of B cells that express the co-stimulatory molecule CD80, and (ii) a lower fraction of B cells that are CD21 + , as compared to human blood. Due to the relative paucity of information on B-cell subsets in organs of healthy humans, a direct comparison between human and CM lymphoid organ data is limited. The fraction of CD27 + and CD23 + B cells appears to be similar, while the fraction of CD80 + B cells appears to be higher than that seen in human lymphoid organs. CM spleens and to some extent lymph nodes have a distinct subset of CD21 + + cells that are also CD80 + / - CD23 l o w IgM + + CD27 + / - FSC + + . This subset is phenotypically similar to the marginal zone B cells present in human spleen and LN samples. We also provide detailed analyses on the fraction of lymphoid organ B cells that express CD21, CD23, CD32, and/or CD80 B-cell markers. Conclusions: In general, cynomolgus monkey B-cell subsets are similar to those seen in humans, as well as to those seen in other nonhuman primates. However, there are some clear differences between human and cynomolgus monkey B-cell subsets. These findings have direct implications for a variety of in vivo studies in cynomolgus monkeys, ranging from basic research on primate B-cell differentiation to models of infectious diseases and trials of new B-cell targeting therapeutic agents.