Abstract
Little is known about how cells regulate and integrate distinct biosynthetic pathways governing differentiation and cell division. For B lineage cells it is widely accepted that activated cells must complete several rounds of mitosis before yielding antibody-secreting plasma cells. However, we report that marginal zone (MZ) B cells, innate-like naive B cells known to generate plasma cells rapidly in response to blood-borne bacteria, generate functional plasma cells despite cell-cycle arrest. Further, short-term Notch2 blockade in vivo reversed division-independent differentiation potential and decreased transcript abundance for numerous mTORC1- and Myc-regulated genes. Myc loss compromised plasma cell differentiation for MZ B cells, and reciprocally induced ectopic mTORC1 signaling in follicular B cells enabled division-independent differentiation and plasma cell–affiliated gene expression. We conclude that ongoing in situ Notch2/mTORC1 signaling in MZ B cells establishes a unique cellular state that enables rapid division-independent plasma cell differentiation.
Authors
Brian T. Gaudette, Carly J. Roman, Trini A. Ochoa, Daniela Gómez Atria, Derek D. Jones, Christian W. Siebel, Ivan Maillard, David Allman
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Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)