Immunoglobulin class-switched B cells form an active immune axis between CNS and periphery in multiple sclerosis.

Journal: Science Translational Medicine
Published:
Abstract

In multiple sclerosis (MS), lymphocyte--in particular B cell--transit between the central nervous system (CNS) and periphery may contribute to the maintenance of active disease. Clonally related B cells exist in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood (PB) of MS patients; however, it remains unclear which subpopulations of the highly diverse peripheral B cell compartment share antigen specificity with intrathecal B cell repertoires and whether their antigen stimulation occurs on both sides of the blood-brain barrier. To address these questions, we combined flow cytometric sorting of PB B cell subsets with deep immune repertoire sequencing of CSF and PB B cells. Immunoglobulin (IgM and IgG) heavy chain variable (VH) region repertoires of five PB B cell subsets from MS patients were compared with their CSF Ig-VH transcriptomes. In six of eight patients, we identified peripheral CD27(+)IgD(-) memory B cells, CD27(hi)CD38(hi) plasma cells/plasmablasts, or CD27(-)IgD(-) B cells that had an immune connection to the CNS compartment. Pinpointing Ig class-switched B cells as key component of the immune axis thought to contribute to ongoing MS disease activity strengthens the rationale of current B cell-targeting therapeutic strategies and may lead to more targeted approaches.

Authors
Arumugam Palanichamy, Leonard Apeltsin, Tracy Kuo, Marina Sirota, Shengzhi Wang, Steven Pitts, Purnima Sundar, Dilduz Telman, Lora Zhao, Mia Derstine, Aya Abounasr, Stephen Hauser, H-christian Von Büdingen
Relevant Conditions

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)