Identification of transitional type II B cells in the salivary glands of patients with Sjögren's syndrome

Abstract

Objective. To identify B cell subpopulations participating in the lymphocyte infiltrate of salivary glands from patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome. A special emphasis was placed on those B lymphocytes included in the ectopic germinal centers (GCs).Methods. The presence of B cells in salivary glands and their polyclonality were ascertained by phenotyping and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in salivary gland samples from 18 patients. Their phenotype was thoroughly analyzed using a number of double-staining combinations. The results obtained in tissue sections were confirmed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis of B cells eluted from salivary glands, and these findings were compared with those in tonsils.Results. Memory-type B cells were defined as CD20؉,CD27؉ and were seen in all specimens, whereas GCs were found in only 7 specimens. Furthermore, B cells found in these GCs lacked certain characteristics of centroblasts and centrocytes. Instead,

Ectopic Germinal Centers Are Rare in Sjögren’s Syndrome Salivary Glands and Do Not Exclude Autoreactive B Cells

“…In brief, of 11 GC-like structures dissected for analysis, 4 contained AID ϩ B cells (hereafter referred to as "real GCs"), and 7 did not (hereafter referred to as "aggregates"). As previously described by us (36) and others (28,31,41), CD21 ϩ CD35 ϩ FDCs were identified in real GCs as well as in aggregates ( Fig. 2A, right).…”

“…Even worse, their relevance has been questioned on the basis that most of the SGinfiltrating B cells in BAFF-transgenic mice exhibit a MZ-like phenotype (28). For example, these cells lack the GC B cell-associated CD10 and CD38 markers (36), and they constitute the first B lymphocytes to repopulate the SGs after B cell depletion (37).…”

“…Given the phenotypic complexity of B cell subsets in their lymphoid organs and inflammatory organs (15,16,36,38), we chose to microdissect different areas of SGs to enable phenotyping of their B cells through RT-PCR identification of these TFs. We also provide clues into the integrity of GC tolerance mechanisms by tracing the emergence of B cells expressing the idiotype targeted by the 9G4 mAb.…”

Splenic proliferative lymphoid nodules distinct from germinal centers are sites of autoantigen stimulation in immune thrombocytopenia

“…on May 10, 2018. by guest www.bloodjournal.org From previously described 16 and using a Zeiss Axio Imager Z1 fluorescence microscope (Carl Zeiss).…”

Analysis of IgG4-positive clones in affected organs of IgG4-related disease

“…Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is required for both CSR and SHM [14,15]. AID is expressed not only in secondary lymphoid organs but also in local tissues in salivary glands of Sjögren syndrome (SS) [16][17][18], nasal mucosa of allergic rhinitis [19,20] and bronchial asthma [21]. We previously showed AID expression in lacrimal gland of IgG4-related sialadenitis and/or dacryoadenitis and that SHM of IgG4-positive plasma cells might occur in lacrimal glands suggesting that immunoglobulin production in IgG4-related dacryoadenitis is antigen-driven [22].…”