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Increased Frequencies of Switched Memory B Cells and Plasmablasts in Peripheral Blood from Patients with ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

Elmér, Evelina LU orcid ; Smargianaki, Sofia LU ; Pettersson, Åsa LU ; Skattum, Lillemor LU ; Ohlsson, Sophie LU orcid ; Hellmark, Thomas LU orcid and Johansson, Åsa C M LU (2020) In Journal of Immunology Research 2020.
Abstract

B cells are thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody- (ANCA-) associated vasculitis (AAV). ANCAs have been proposed to cause vasculitis by activating primed neutrophils to damage small blood vessels. We studied a cohort of AAV patients of which a majority were in remission and diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Using flow cytometry, the frequencies of CD19+ B cells and subsets in peripheral blood from 106 patients with AAV and 134 healthy controls were assessed. B cells were divided into naive, preswitch memory, switched memory, and exhausted memory cells. Naive and switched memory cells were further subdivided into transitional cells and plasmablasts, respectively. In... (More)

B cells are thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody- (ANCA-) associated vasculitis (AAV). ANCAs have been proposed to cause vasculitis by activating primed neutrophils to damage small blood vessels. We studied a cohort of AAV patients of which a majority were in remission and diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Using flow cytometry, the frequencies of CD19+ B cells and subsets in peripheral blood from 106 patients with AAV and 134 healthy controls were assessed. B cells were divided into naive, preswitch memory, switched memory, and exhausted memory cells. Naive and switched memory cells were further subdivided into transitional cells and plasmablasts, respectively. In addition, serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, G, and M were measured and clinical data were retrieved. AAV patients displayed, in relation to healthy controls, a decreased frequency of B cells of lymphocytes (5.1% vs. 8.3%) and total B cell number. For the subsets, a decrease in percentage of transitional B cells (0.7% vs. 4.4%) and expansions of switched memory B cells (22.3% vs. 16.5%) and plasmablasts (0.9% vs. 0.3%) were seen. A higher proportion of B cells was activated (CD95+) in patients (20.6% vs. 10.3%), and immunoglobulin levels were largely unaltered. No differences in B cell frequencies between patients in active disease and remission were observed. Patients in remission with a tendency to relapse had, compared to nonrelapsing patients, decreased frequencies of B cells (3.5% vs. 6.5%) and transitional B cells (0.1% vs. 1.1%) and an increased frequency of activated exhausted memory B cells (30.8% vs. 22.3%). AAV patients exhibit specific changes in frequencies of CD19+ B cells and their subsets in peripheral blood. These alterations could contribute to the autoantibody-driven inflammatory process in AAV.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Immunology Research
volume
2020
article number
8209737
publisher
Hindawi Limited
external identifiers
  • scopus:85097665040
  • pmid:33313327
ISSN
2314-7156
DOI
10.1155/2020/8209737
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Copyright © 2020 Evelina Elmér et al.
id
8e2bd713-1638-44a7-880f-e726d92a6dfd
date added to LUP
2021-01-02 00:36:59
date last changed
2024-06-14 06:39:47
@article{8e2bd713-1638-44a7-880f-e726d92a6dfd,
  abstract     = {{<p>B cells are thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody- (ANCA-) associated vasculitis (AAV). ANCAs have been proposed to cause vasculitis by activating primed neutrophils to damage small blood vessels. We studied a cohort of AAV patients of which a majority were in remission and diagnosed with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Using flow cytometry, the frequencies of CD19+ B cells and subsets in peripheral blood from 106 patients with AAV and 134 healthy controls were assessed. B cells were divided into naive, preswitch memory, switched memory, and exhausted memory cells. Naive and switched memory cells were further subdivided into transitional cells and plasmablasts, respectively. In addition, serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, G, and M were measured and clinical data were retrieved. AAV patients displayed, in relation to healthy controls, a decreased frequency of B cells of lymphocytes (5.1% vs. 8.3%) and total B cell number. For the subsets, a decrease in percentage of transitional B cells (0.7% vs. 4.4%) and expansions of switched memory B cells (22.3% vs. 16.5%) and plasmablasts (0.9% vs. 0.3%) were seen. A higher proportion of B cells was activated (CD95+) in patients (20.6% vs. 10.3%), and immunoglobulin levels were largely unaltered. No differences in B cell frequencies between patients in active disease and remission were observed. Patients in remission with a tendency to relapse had, compared to nonrelapsing patients, decreased frequencies of B cells (3.5% vs. 6.5%) and transitional B cells (0.1% vs. 1.1%) and an increased frequency of activated exhausted memory B cells (30.8% vs. 22.3%). AAV patients exhibit specific changes in frequencies of CD19+ B cells and their subsets in peripheral blood. These alterations could contribute to the autoantibody-driven inflammatory process in AAV.</p>}},
  author       = {{Elmér, Evelina and Smargianaki, Sofia and Pettersson, Åsa and Skattum, Lillemor and Ohlsson, Sophie and Hellmark, Thomas and Johansson, Åsa C M}},
  issn         = {{2314-7156}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Hindawi Limited}},
  series       = {{Journal of Immunology Research}},
  title        = {{Increased Frequencies of Switched Memory B Cells and Plasmablasts in Peripheral Blood from Patients with ANCA-Associated Vasculitis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8209737}},
  doi          = {{10.1155/2020/8209737}},
  volume       = {{2020}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}