CD24
Overview
CD24 (heat stable antigen) is expressed on B cells at varying levels across developmental stages. In human B cell phenotyping, CD24 is used in multiparameter panels to help resolve transitional B cells (CD24^high CD38^high) from mature naive and memory populations.
Key Points from Literature
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In 8-color multiparameter analysis, DN B cells show a CD24 expression pattern virtually identical to conventional CD27⁺ switched memory cells — both contain CD24⁺ and CD24⁻ fractions — further supporting the shared memory phenotype of the two populations (see Wei2007 - DN Memory B Cells in SLE, Fig. 2B).
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Naive B cells display lower CD24 expression than unswitched CD27⁺ memory cells on average (see Wei2007 - DN Memory B Cells in SLE).
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CD24⁻ is the critical discriminator between acN cells and transitional B cells: Both activated naive (acN) cells and transitional B cells are MTG⁺ within the IgD⁺CD27⁻ compartment, but transitional cells are CD24⁺ (MTG⁺CD24⁺) while acN cells are CD24⁻ (MTG⁺CD24⁻). The CD24⁻ criterion thus separates a newly activated naive population from the developmentally immature transitional pool. acN cells are additionally CD21⁻, CD38^lo, IgM^lo, and CD23⁻ (see Tipton2015 - ASC Diversity and Origin in SLE, multi-color flow cytometry).
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CD24⁻ is shared by aNAV and DN2 cells in the EF pathway: DN2 B cells are CD24⁻, the same phenotype as aNAV cells. CD24⁻ status in both populations is part of the broader loss of a “resting” marker cassette (including CD21, CD23, BACH2) during EF activation. In vitro, rNAV→aNAV differentiation (TLR7 + IFN-γ) produces CD24⁻ cells by day 3, and aNAV→DN2 transition retains CD24⁻ status (see Jenks2018 - DN2 B Cells and EF Pathway in SLE, flow cytometry + in vitro differentiation).
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CD24 is in the recommended seven-marker core, and it is the marker that separates DN1 from DN2. The review recommends initial categorisation on IgD, CD27 and CD38 together with CD24, and shows a CD24 vs CD38 gating strategy resolving five fractions with good naive-from-memory and naive-from-transitional separation. In Table 1 the DN rows differ on it: DN1 is CD38⁺CD24⁺CD21⁺ while DN2 is CD38⁻CD24⁻CD21⁻ — so CD24 is one of three co-varying axes distinguishing them, not an optional extra (see Sanz2019 - Consistent Classification of Human B Cell Populations, review — no original data). Panel consequence: the wiki’s documented 11-colour panel does not carry CD24, so DN1/DN2 separation rests on CD21 and CD11c alone. See DN2 Gating Strategy.
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[2026-08-29] CD24^hi CD38^hi transitional cells go the opposite way from every other subset in cutaneous lupus. Transitional T1+T2 cells, gated CD24^hi CD38^hi within the IgD⁺CD27⁻ naive+transitional compartment, were expanded in CCLE relative to both healthy donors and SLE without skin disease — whereas the effector subsets (activated naive, DN2, DN3, plasmablasts) place CCLE between healthy and SLE. A subset of CCLE patients clustered with SLE patients specifically through shared transitional frequency (cluster V), a group also marked by the largest unswitched-memory loss (see Jenks2021 - B Cell Subset Composition in Cutaneous Lupus, n=207 + 46 HCD, cross-sectional). Whether this transitional-expanded group is a distinct disease entity is raised and left open.
Contradictions & Debates
None documented in current wiki sources.
Related Pages
Double-Negative B Cell, DN2 B Cell, Activated Naive B Cell, Memory B Cell, CD21, Conventional Flow Cytometry