Human B-cell subset identification and changes in inflammatory diseases

Abstract

Our understanding of the B cell subsets found in human blood and their functional significance has advanced significantly in the past decade. This has been aided by the evolution of high dimensional phenotypic tools such as mass cytometry and single cell RNA sequencing which have revealed heterogeneity in populations that were previously considered homogenous. Despite this, there is still uncertainty and variation between studies as to how B cell subsets are identified and named. This review will focus on the most commonly encountered subsets of B cells in human blood and will describe gating strategies for their identification by flow and mass cytometry. Important changes to population frequencies and function in common inflammatory and autoimmune diseases will also be described.

The immune landscape of the inflamed joint defined by spectral flow cytometry

“…Moreover, SF-exclusive 4-1BB, CD71 and CD112 high mDC-like cells likely use these molecules for increased iron metabolism, survival and activation of T and NK cells (26)(27)(28). A restricted number of markers specific to B cells in inflammatory environments were included in this phenotyping panel, limiting comparisons to other studies in inflammatory disease (77). Nevertheless, we were able to confirm reduced B cell numbers in JIA SF (8), additionally displaying SF B cells to be highly activated, in agreement with the hyperactivity of B cells recently suggested as a possible pathogenesis factor of JIA (29,78).…”