A bacterial artificial chromosome transgene with polymorphic Cd72 inhibits the development of glomerulonephritis and vasculitis in MRL-Faslpr lupus mice

The pathological role of B cells in systemic lupus erythematosus: From basic research to clinical

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that often occurs in females of child-bearing age. It involves multiple systems and severely threatens human life. One of the typical characteristics of SLE is the formation of immune complexes with autoantibodies produced by B cells that target various autoantigens, thus indicating the pivotal role of B cells in the pathogenesis of SLE. Increasing evidence has shown abnormal expression of B cells in the peripheral blood of SLE patients. Moreover, numerous studies have shown that B cells in SLE patients are abnormally activated, as well as aberrantly differentiated, and are involved in the inflammatory cytokine milieu, abnormal transcription factor activity, and signalling pathways. Several biological therapies targeting B cells, such as anti-CD20 antibodies, have been intensively studied in preclinical and clinical trials. However, the results have not met expectations. Therefore, new therapies targeting B cells are in great need. This review will summarize the latest progress in basic research on B cells to better understand the pathogenesis of SLE and will discuss the outcomes of B-cell-targeting treatments that provide potential therapeutic targets and strategies for SLE. Studies have clarified high levels of IL-21 in serum from SLE patients and animal models. IL-21 promotes B cell differentiation, which results in antibodies accumulation leads to SLE. Therefore, further studies on IL-21 will give new perspectives on SLE treatments. In addition, the application of drugs targeting plasma cell depletion in SLE patients may also achieve satisfied results in treatment.

Trib1 Is Overexpressed in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, While It Regulates Immunoglobulin Production in Murine B Cells

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a severe and heterogeneous autoimmune disease with a complex genetic etiology, characterized by the production of various pathogenic autoantibodies, which participate in end-organ damages. The majority of human SLE occurs in adults as a polygenic disease, and clinical flares interspersed with silent phases of various lengths characterize the usual evolution of the disease in time. Trying to understand the mechanism of the different phenotypic traits of the disease, and considering the central role of B cells in SLE, we previously performed a detailed wide analysis of gene expression variation in B cells from quiescent SLE patients. This analysis pointed out an overexpression of TRIB1. TRIB1 is a pseudokinase that has been implicated in the development of leukemia and also metabolic disorders. It is hypothesized that Trib1 plays an adapter or scaffold function in signaling pathways, notably in MAPK pathways. Therefore, we planned to understand the functional significance of TRIB1 overexpression in B cells in SLE. We produced a new knock-in model with B-cell-specific overexpression of Trib1. We showed that overexpression of Trib1 specifically in B cells does not impact B cell development nor induce any development of SLE symptoms in the mice. By contrast, Trib1 has a negative regulatory function on the production of immunoglobulins, notably IgG1, but also on the production of autoantibodies in an induced model. We observed a decrease of Erk activation in BCR-stimulated Trib1 overexpressing B cells. Finally, we searched for Trib1 partners in B cells by proteomic analysis in order to explore the regulatory function of Trib1 in B cells. Interestingly, we find an interaction between Trib1 and CD72, a negative regulator of B cells whose deficiency in mice leads to the development of autoimmunity. In conclusion, the overexpression of Trib1 could be one of the molecular pathways implicated in the negative regulation of B cells during SLE.

CD72 negatively regulates B lymphocyte responses to the lupus-related endogenous toll-like receptor 7 ligand Sm/RNP

Akatsu and colleagues show that CD72 specifically recognizes Sm/RNP, a lupus-related self-antigen and an endogenous TLR7 ligand, and inhibits B cell responses to Sm/RNP. In mice, CD72 prevents production of anti-Sm/RNP antibodies crucial for lupus development.

Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) plays an essential role in development of systemic lupus erythematosus by co-stimulating B cells reactive to the endogenous TLR7 ligand Sm/ribonucleoprotein (RNP), a crucial lupus self-antigen. However, how the TLR7-mediated autoimmune response is regulated is not yet known. In this study, we demonstrate that CD72, an inhibitory B cell co-receptor known to prevent development of lupus, recognizes Sm/RNP at the extracellular C-type lectin-like domain (CTLD) and specifically inhibits B cell response to Sm/RNP. Moreover, the CTLD of CD72^c, a lupus-susceptible allele, binds to Sm/RNP less strongly than that of lupus-resistant CD72^a. Reduced binding of CD72^c is supported by x-ray crystallographic analysis that reveals a considerable alteration in charge at the putative ligand-binding site. Thus, CD72 appears to specifically inhibit B cell response to the endogenous TLR7 ligand Sm/RNP through CTLD-mediated recognition of Sm/RNP, thereby preventing production of anti-Sm/RNP antibody crucial for development of lupus.

Cd72(c) is a modifier gene that regulates Fas(lpr)-induced autoimmune disease

Although modifier genes are extensively studied in various diseases, little is known about modifier genes that regulate autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune disease caused by the Fas(lpr) mutation depends on the genetic background of mouse strains, suggesting a crucial role of modifier genes. MRL/MpJ-Fas(lpr) (MRL/lpr) and AKR/lpr mice develop severe and mild lupus-like autoimmune disease, respectively, whereas this mutation does not cause disease on C57BL/6 (B6) or C3H background. Both MRL and AKR carry the same haplotype of the Cd72 gene encoding an inhibitory BCR coreceptor (CD72(c)), and CD72(c) contains several amino acid substitutions and a deletion in the extracellular region compared with CD72(a) and CD72(b). To address the role of Cd72(c) locus in the regulation of Fas(lpr)-induced autoimmune disease, we generated B6.CD72(c)/lpr and MRL.CD72(b)/lpr congenic mice. Introduction of the chromosomal interval containing Cd72(c) did not cause disease in B6 mice by itself, but caused development of lupus-like disease in the presence of Fas(lpr) on B6 background, clearly demonstrating that this interval contains the modifier gene that regulates Fas(lpr)-induced autoimmune disease. Conversely, MRL.CD72(b)/lpr congenic mice showed milder disease compared with MRL/lpr mice. We further demonstrated that Cd72(c) is a hypofunctional allele in BCR signal inhibition and that CD72 deficiency induces severe autoimmune disease in the presence of Fas(lpr). These results strongly suggest that the Cd72(c) is a crucial modifier gene that regulates Fas(lpr)-induced autoimmune disease due to its reduced activity of B cell signal regulation.