Circulating B cells in type 1 diabetics exhibit fewer maturation-associated phenotypes

• Published in: Clinical immunology (Orlando, Fla.) Vol. 183; pp. 336 - 343
• Main Authors: Hanley, Patrick, Sutter, Jennifer A., Goodman, Noah G., Du, Yangzhu, Sekiguchi, Debora R., Meng, Wenzhao, Rickels, Michael R., Naji, Ali, Luning Prak, Eline T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.2017
• Subjects: Adult; B lymphocytes; B-Lymphocyte Subsets - physiology; Case-Control Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - immunology; FasR; Humans; Immunophenotyping - methods; Phenotype; TACI; Type 1 diabetes; Photomultiplier tube; B lymphocytes; Mean fluorescence intensity; Nonobese diabetic mouse; Coefficient of variation; Transitional B cells; Fas receptor; Mature activated B cells; TACI; Type 1 diabetes; Mature naïve B cells; Resting memory B cells; Natural killer cells; FasR; B cell receptor; Transmembrane activator and CAML interactor
• ISSN: 1521-6616; 1521-7035; 1521-7035
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2017.09.021

Although autoantibodies have been used for decades as diagnostic and prognostic markers in type 1 diabetes (T1D), further analysis of developmental abnormalities in B cells could reveal tolerance checkpoint defects that could improve individualized therapy. To evaluate B cell developmental progression in T1D, immunophenotyping was used to classify circulating B cells into transitional, mature naïve, mature activated, and resting memory subsets. Then each subset was analyzed for the expression of additional maturation-associated markers. While the frequencies of B cell subsets did not differ significantly between patients and controls, some T1D subjects exhibited reduced proportions of B cells that expressed transmembrane activator and CAML interactor (TACI) and Fas receptor (FasR). Furthermore, some T1D subjects had B cell subsets with lower frequencies of class switching. These results suggest circulating B cells exhibit variable maturation phenotypes in T1D. These phenotypic variations may correlate with differences in B cell selection in individual T1D patients.