Survival of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium within late endosomal-lysosomal compartments of B lymphocytes is associated with the inability to use the vacuolar alternative major histocompatibility complex class I antigen-processing pathway.

Gamma interferon (IFN-gamma)-activated macrophages use an alternative processing mechanism to present Salmonella antigens to CD8(+) T lymphocytes. This pathway involves processing of antigen in a vacuolar compartment followed by secretion and loading of antigenic peptides to major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules on macrophage cell surface and bystander cells. In this study, we have shown that B lymphocytes are not able to process Salmonella antigens using this alternative pathway. This is due to differences in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium-containing vacuoles (SCV) when comparing late endosomal-lysosomal processing compartments in B lymphocytes to those in macrophages. The IFN-gamma-activated IC21 macrophage cell line and A-20 B-cell line were infected with live or dead Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The SCV in B cells were in a late endosomal-lysosomal compartment, whereas SCV in macrophages were remodeled to a non-characteristic late endosomal-lysosomal compartment over time. Despite the difference in SCV within macrophages and B lymphocytes, S. enterica serovar Typhimurium survives more efficiently within the IFN-gamma-activated B cells than in activated macrophage cell lines. Similar results were found during in vivo acute infection. We determined that a lack of remodeling of late endosomal-lysosomal compartments by live Salmonella infection in B lymphocytes is associated with the inability to use the alternative MHC-I antigen-processing pathway, providing a survival advantage to the bacterium. Our data also suggest that the B lymphocyte late endosome-lysosome environment allows the expression of Salmonella virulence mechanisms favoring B lymphocytes in addition to macrophages and dendritic cells as a reservoir during in vivo infection.