Hypogammaglobulinemia and defective B-cell function in miR-142^−/− mice. (A) Hypoimmunoglobulinemia in miR-142^−/− mice. Analysis of serum immunoglobulins (Igs) in 8-week-old female WT (n = 6) and KO (n = 6) mice by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). (B-C) miR-142 KO B cells have a significantly reduced capacity to differentiate into short-lived plasma cells. (B) FACS analysis of WT and KO splenocytes either left unstimulated or stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (20 μg/mL) for 3 days. Short-lived plasma cells (B220^loCD138⁺) are gated and numbers indicate the percentage of cells in the gate. (C) Percentage of B220^loCD138⁺ plasmablasts in unstimulated (n = 4) or lipopolysaccharide -stimulated (n = 6) WT and KO splenocyte cultures. Results are shown as means ± SD and are representative of 2 independent experiments. P values were calculated using Student t test. *P ≤ .05; **P ≤ .01; ***P ≤ .001. LPS, lipopolysaccharide; PC, plasma cells.