Decreased levels of regulatory B cells in patients with systemic sclerosis: association with autoantibody production and disease activity

• Published in: Rheumatology (Oxford, England) Vol. 55; no. 2; pp. 263 - 267
• Main Authors: Matsushita, Takashi, Hamaguchi, Yasuhito, Hasegawa, Minoru, Takehara, Kazuhiko, Fujimoto, Manabu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.02.2016
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Autoantibodies - biosynthesis; Autoantibodies - immunology; Autoimmunity; B-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; B-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - metabolism; B-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - pathology; Disease Progression; Female; Flow Cytometry; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Interleukin-10 - metabolism; Lymphocyte Count; Male; Middle Aged; Scleroderma, Systemic - immunology; Scleroderma, Systemic - metabolism; Scleroderma, Systemic - pathology; Severity of Illness Index; Young Adult; IL-10; regulatory B cell; systemic sclerosis

B cell abnormalities characterized by autoantibody production and polyclonal B cell activation play an important role in the pathogenesis of SSc. IL-10 producing regulatory B (Breg) cells also play an important role in the negative immune response. We identified a human Breg cell subset that was pre...