What is the organ origin of the circulating PCs? After their generation in the lymph nodes, newly generated PCs exit into the lymphatic system and then the PB and home mainly to the BM, spleen or MALT.1 Whereas some evidence exists indicating that BM HSCs and PCs share the same niche in mice, this has not been demonstrated in humans. It is noteworthy that the percentage of CD34+ HSCs in the BM was similar to that of BM PCs (i.e. 0·5%), as were Ibrutinib concentration the counts of circulating CD34+ cells and PCs (Table 1). Regarding CD34+ HSCs, the treatment of healthy individuals with G-CSF results in two processes: a 3-fold

amplification of the pool of BM CD34+ HSCs 19, and the mobilization of these BM SCH772984 nmr HSCs into the PB. This resulted in a 44-fold increase in the counts of circulating CD34+ cells, while G-CSF treatment increased 4·2–7·0-fold other leucocytes such as PCs and B lymphocytes. This argues against the idea that PCs share the same niche as HSCs in humans. An alternative possibility is that the 6·2-fold difference between the increase

in circulating HSCs and that of PCs after G-CSF treatment can be explained by the lack of PC expansion by G-CSF. The effect of a G-CSF treatment on the count of BM PCs has not been reported. As BM PCs, and PCs in general, do not express the G-CSF receptor (see http://amazonia.transcriptome.eu/index.php?zone=PlasmaCell)20,21 and, in con-trast to BM CD34+  HSCs, they do not expand in vitro22, it may be anticipated that G-CSF treatment

will not expand BM PCs in vivo. Thus, the increase in circulating PCs could be mainly attributable to mobilization of tissue PCs into the PB. Mobilization of CD34+ HSCs is mediated by cleavage of SDF-1 and adhesion molecules by proteases produced by G-CSF-activated BM neutrophils.23 As CXCR4+ PCs are recruited into the BM through SDF-1-expressing cells 12, one could anticipate that cleavage of SDF-1 induced by G-CSF treatment could also release BM PCs into the blood. In addition, MALT PCs are located close to a proliferation inducing ligand-producing neutrophils and SDF-1-producing cells and activation of these MALT FER neutrophils by G-CSF could also promote the release of PCs from these tissues.24 The PCs that are induced to circulate after G-CSF mobilization displayed a phenotype that was close to that of circulating PCs in healthy individuals in steady-state conditions or to that of PCs generated from memory B cells in vitro.13,20 Comparison of the heavy chain isotype distribution in circulating PCs in steady-state or G-CSF-mobilization conditions indicates that G-CSF mobilization increased the percentage of IgG-circulating PCs (from 31 to 55·3%) and decreased that of IgA-circulating PCs (from 42·0 to 15·3%). The percentage of IgM-circulating PCs remained similar.