CD11c+ B cells have been reported to be increased in autoimmune diseases, but they are detected in the blood of healthy individuals as well. We aimed to characterize CD11c+ B cells from healthy donors by flow cytometry, microarray analysis, and in vitro functional assays. Here, we report that CD11c+ B cells are a distinct subpopulation of B cells, enriched in the memory subpopulation even if their phenotype is heterogeneous, with overexpression of genes involved in B-cell activation and differentiation as well as in antigen presentation. Upon activation, CD11c+ B cells can differentiate into antibody-secreting cells, and CD11c could be upregulated in CD11c− B cells by B-cell receptor activation. Finally, we show that patients with pemphigus, an autoimmune disease mediated by B cells, have a decreased frequency of CD11c+ B cell after treatment, relative to baseline. Our findings show that CD11c+ B cells are mainly memory B cells prone to differentiate into antibody secreting cells that accumulate with age, independently of gender.
中文翻译:
CD11c + B细胞主要是记忆细胞,是健康捐献者中抗体分泌细胞的前体。
据报道,CD11c + B细胞在自身免疫性疾病中会增加,但在健康个体的血液中也能检测到它们。我们旨在通过流式细胞仪,微阵列分析和来自健康供体的CD11c + B细胞进行表征体外功能测定。在这里,我们报告CD11c + B细胞是B细胞的一个独特的亚群,即使它们的表型是异质的,也富集于记忆亚群中,并且与B细胞活化和分化以及抗原呈递有关的基因过表达。激活后,CD11c + B细胞可分化为分泌抗体的细胞,而CD11c可通过B细胞受体激活而在CD11c - B细胞中上调。最后,我们显示天疱疮(一种由B细胞介导的自身免疫性疾病)的患者相对于基线治疗后CD11c + B细胞的频率降低。我们的发现表明CD11c + B细胞主要是记忆性B细胞,容易分化为抗体分泌细胞,这些细胞会随年龄增长而与性别无关。