Research article
Class-switched B cells display response to therapeutic B-cell depletion in rheumatoid arthritis
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* Corresponding author: Burkhard Möller burkhard.moeller@insel.ch
1 Clinic for Rheumatology, Clinical Immunology, and Allergology, Inselspital – University Hospital of Bern, Freiburgstraße, Bern 3010, Switzerland
2 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Inselspital – University Hospital of Bern, Freiburgstraße, Bern 3010, Switzerland
3 Section of Neuropathology, Institute of Pathology, University of Bern, Murtenstraße 31, Bern 3010, Switzerland
4 Department of Orthopaedic, Plastic and Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Inselspital – University Hospital of Bern, Freiburgstraße, Bern 3010, Switzerland
5 Institute of Immunology, Inselspital – University Hospital of Bern, Freiburgstraße, Bern 3010, Switzerland
Arthritis Research & Therapy 2009, 11:R62 doi:10.1186/ar2686
Published: 6 May 2009Additional files
Additional data file 1:
Schematic overview of B cell developmental stages (names in boxes) and corresponding surface markers (in boxes with punctured lines) that were used in this study. Immunoglobulin class-switch of B cells is functionally linked with antigen dependent, MHC restricted affinity maturation, and anatomically related to germinal centre (GC) formation. CD27+IgD- class-switched B cells can either be post-germinal centre memory B cells, or plasmablasts, which are directed to further plasma cell development. We show in this study that the kinetics of class-switched B cells is associated with the course of RA disease activity. MHC-II: class 2 major histocompatibility complex, TCR: T cell receptor, CD27 and CD70: TNF-α family members and co-stimulatory molecules on B cells and T cells.
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Additional data file 2:
Histological preparations from RA synovitis in the early B cell reconstitution phase after RTX. Haematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry for synovial B cells during the early peripheral blood B cell repletion phase. Flow cytometric analyses for IgD and CD27 expression from the same sample are depicted as patient 3 in Figure 2A. The infiltrating CD20+ B cells form a few small lymphoid aggregates with large CD79a+ CD20- plasma cells (arrows). This exemplary staining was performed in a synovial sample from a flaring knee joint using CD20 (clone L26) and CD79a antibodies (clone JCB117) from Dako, Glostrup, Denmark. Immunohistochemistry slides have been obtained using a three-step streptavidin-biotin technique, and new-fuchsin as chromogen. Original magnification × 200.
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