B Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis：Pathogenic Mechanisms and Treatment Prospects

• Published in: Frontiers in immunology Vol. 12; p. 750753
• Main Authors: Wu, Fengping, Gao, Jinfang, Kang, Jie, Wang, Xuexue, Niu, Qing, Liu, Jiaxi, Zhang, Liyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 28.09.2021
• Subjects: ACPA; Animals; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - immunology; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - therapy; autoreactive; B cells; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Humans; Immune Tolerance; Immunology; rheumatoid arthritis; Synovial Membrane - immunology; therapeutic approaches; B cells; autoreactive; RF; ACPA; rheumatoid arthritis; therapeutic approaches
• ISSN: 1664-3224; 1664-3224
• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.750753

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common, chronic, systemic autoimmune disease, and its clinical features are the proliferation of joint synovial tissue, the formation of pannus and the destruction of cartilage. The global incidence of RA is about 1%, and it is more common in women. The basic feature of RA is the body's immune system disorders, in which autoreactive CD4 T cells, pathogenic B cells, M1 macrophages, inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and autoantibodies abnormally increase in the body of RA patients B cell depletion therapy has well proved the important role of B cells in the pathogenesis of RA, and the treatment of RA with B cells as a target has also been paid more and more attention. Although the inflammatory indicators in RA patients receiving B-cell depletion therapy have been significantly improved, the risk of infection and cancer has also increased, which suggests that we need to deplete pathogenic B cells instead of all B cells. However, at present we cannot distinguish between pathogenic B cells and protective B cells in RA patients. In this review, we explore fresh perspectives upon the roles of B cells in the occurrence, development and treatment of RA.