We were thinking to culture mouse B cells from the spleen in vitro for a week or two. We need them to expand and produce cytokines. I did some research on the protocols, many groups use feeder cells that express CD40L. There are also protocols out there using recombinant CD40L. I would rather use recombinant CD40L rather than feeder cells if possible. But I don't know how good the system is. Would you guys share your experience and/or thoughts on this, pls?
Another question is - will the same protocol produce similar results for B cells of different activation states? -- If I want to culture B cells from immunized mice, is there anything to pay attention to in comparison to culturing naive B cells?