To characterize B cell hyperactivity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients we studied the early events of B cell activation in 14 patients and controls. We measured B cell proliferation induced by three interleukin (IL) preparations (20-kDa B cell growth factor, BCGF, recombinant IL2 and 50-kDa BCGF) in the absence and in the presence of an anti-mu antibody (Ab). SLE B cells exhibited a markedly enhanced proliferative response to the 50-kDa BCGF in the absence of an anti-mu Ab, while responding normally in the presence of a first signal. This pattern of hyperactivity was observed in 11 out of 14 patients tested, and was absent in control patients. In contrast, SLE B cells behaved like normal B cells for the response to the other two IL tested, and to the anti-mu Ab alone. It should be pointed out that SLE B cells responded normally to recombinant IL2 whereas T cells from the same patients exhibited a decreased response to this IL. The selectively enhanced responsiveness of SLE B cells to the 50-kDa BCGF suggests that the events leading to B cell hyperactivity in this disease affect the early stages of B cell activation.