Human T-bet+ B cell development is associated with BTK activity and suppressed by evobrutinib

Recent clinical trials have shown promising results for the next-generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor evobrutinib in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). BTK has a central role in signaling pathways that govern the development of B cells. Whether and how BTK activity shapes B cells as key drivers of MS is currently unclear. Compared with levels of BTK protein, we found higher levels of phospho-BTK in ex vivo blood memory B cells from patients with relapsing-remitting MS and secondary progressive MS compared with controls. In these MS groups, BTK activity was induced to a lesser extent after anti-IgM stimulation. BTK positively correlated with CXCR3 expression, both of which were increased in blood B cells from clinical responders to natalizumab (anti–VLA-4 antibody) treatment. Under in vitro T follicular helper–like conditions, BTK phosphorylation was enhanced by T-bet–inducing stimuli, IFN-γ and CpG-ODN, while the expression of T-bet and T-bet–associated molecules CXCR3, CD21, and CD11c was affected by evobrutinib. Furthermore, evobrutinib interfered with in vitro class switching, as well as memory recall responses, and disturbed CXCL10-mediated migration of CXCR3⁺ switched B cells through human brain endothelial monolayers. These findings demonstrate a functional link between BTK activity and disease-relevant B cells and offer valuable insights into how next-generation BTK inhibitors could modulate the clinical course of patients with MS.

Pregnancy-induced effects on memory B-cell development in multiple sclerosis

In MS, pathogenic memory B cells infiltrate the brain and develop into antibody-secreting cells. Chemokine receptors not only define their brain-infiltrating capacity, but also assist in their maturation in germinal centers. How this corresponds to pregnancy, as a naturally occurring modifier of MS, is underexplored. Here, we aimed to study the impact of pregnancy on both ex vivo and in vitro B-cell differentiation in MS. The composition and outgrowth of peripheral B cells were compared between 19 MS pregnant patients and 12 healthy controls during the third trimester of pregnancy (low relapse risk) and postpartum (high relapse risk). Transitional, and not naive mature, B-cell frequencies were found to drop in the third trimester, which was most prominent in patients who experienced a pre-pregnancy relapse. Early after delivery, these frequencies raised again, while memory B -cell frequencies modestly declined. CXCR4 was downregulated and CXCR5, CXCR3 and CCR6 were upregulated on postpartum memory B cells, implying enhanced recruitment into germinal center light zones for interaction with T follicular helper (T_FH) cells. Postpartum memory B cells of MS patients expressed higher levels of CCR6 and preferentially developed into plasma cells under T_FH-like in vitro conditions. These findings imply that memory B- cell differentiation contributes to postpartum relapse risk in MS.

Naive B cells in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: impact of steroid use and relapses

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders are a group of rare, but severe autoimmune diseases characterized by inflammation of the optic nerve(s) and/or spinal cord. Although naive B cells are considered key players by escaping central tolerance checkpoints, it remains unclear how their composition and outgrowth differ in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders. Under complete treatment-naive circumstances, we found that naive mature/transitional B-cell ratios were reduced in the blood of 10 patients with aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G-positive disease (neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders) as compared to 11 both age- and gender-matched healthy controls, eight patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-immunoglobulin G-associated disorders and 10 patients with multiple sclerosis. This was the result of increased proportions of transitional B cells, which were the highest in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders with relapses and strongly diminished in a separate group of nine patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-immunoglobulin G-associated disorders who received corticosteroid treatment. These findings need to be confirmed in longitudinal studies. For purified naive mature B cells of seven patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-immunoglobulin G-associated disorders with relapses, Toll-like receptor 9 ligand synergized with interferon-γ to enhance plasmablast formation during germinal centre-like cultures. This was not seen for 11 patients without relapses and nine healthy controls. In the neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders group, in vitro plasmablast formation corresponded to total and anti-aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G secretion, of which the latter was found only for relapsing cases. These data indicate that naive B-cell homoeostasis is different and selectively targeted by corticosteroids in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders. This also supports further exploration of naive B cells for their use in Toll-like receptor 9-dependent in vitro platforms in order to predict the activity of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders.

The Role of Autoimmunity-Related Gene CLEC16A in the B Cell Receptor-Mediated HLA Class II Pathway

C-type lectin CLEC16A is located next to CIITA, the master transcription factor of HLA class II (HLA-II), at a susceptibility locus for several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). We previously found that CLEC16A promotes the biogenesis of HLA-II peptide-loading compartments (MIICs) in myeloid cells. Given the emerging role of B cells as APCs in these diseases, in this study, we addressed whether and how CLEC16A is involved in the BCR-dependent HLA-II pathway. CLEC16A was coexpressed with surface class II-associated invariant chain peptides (CLIP) in human EBV-positive and not EBV-negative B cell lines. Stable knockdown of CLEC16A in EBV-positive Raji B cells resulted in an upregulation of surface HLA-DR and CD74 (invariant chain), whereas CLIP was slightly but significantly reduced. In addition, IgM-mediated Salmonella uptake was decreased, and MIICs were less clustered in CLEC16A-silenced Raji cells, implying that CLEC16A controls both HLA-DR/CD74 and BCR/Ag processing in MIICs. In primary B cells, CLEC16A was only induced under CLIP-stimulating conditions in vitro and was predominantly expressed in CLIP^high naive populations. Finally, CLIP-loaded HLA-DR molecules were abnormally enriched, and coregulation with CLEC16A was abolished in blood B cells of patients who rapidly develop MS. These findings demonstrate that CLEC16A participates in the BCR-dependent HLA-II pathway in human B cells and that this regulation is impaired during MS disease onset. The abundance of CLIP already on naive B cells of MS patients may point to a chronically induced stage and a new mechanism underlying B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases such as MS.

B and T Cells Driving Multiple Sclerosis: Identity, Mechanisms and Potential Triggers

Historically, multiple sclerosis (MS) has been viewed as being primarily driven by T cells. However, the effective use of anti-CD20 treatment now also reveals an important role for B cells in MS patients. The results from this treatment put forward T-cell activation rather than antibody production by B cells as a driving force behind MS. The main question of how their interaction provokes both B and T cells to infiltrate the CNS and cause local pathology remains to be answered. In this review, we highlight key pathogenic events involving B and T cells that most likely contribute to the pathogenesis of MS. These include (1) peripheral escape of B cells from T cell-mediated control, (2) interaction of pathogenic B and T cells in secondary lymph nodes, and (3) reactivation of B and T cells accumulating in the CNS. We will focus on the functional programs of CNS-infiltrating lymphocyte subsets in MS patients and discuss how these are defined by mechanisms such as antigen presentation, co-stimulation and cytokine production in the periphery. Furthermore, the potential impact of genetic variants and viral triggers on candidate subsets will be debated in the context of MS.

Induction of brain-infiltrating T-bet-expressing B cells in multiple sclerosis

Objective

Results from anti‐CD20 therapies demonstrate that B‐ and T‐cell interaction is a major driver of multiple sclerosis (MS). The local presence of B‐cell follicle‐like structures and oligoclonal bands in MS patients indicates that certain B cells infiltrate the central nervous system (CNS) to mediate pathology. Which peripheral triggers underlie the development of CNS‐infiltrating B cells is not fully understood.

Methods

Ex vivo flow cytometry was used to assess chemokine receptor profiles of B cells in blood, cerebrospinal fluid, meningeal, and brain tissues of MS patients (n = 10). Similar analyses were performed for distinct memory subsets in the blood of untreated and natalizumab‐treated MS patients (n = 38). To assess T‐bet(CXCR3)⁺ B‐cell differentiation, we cultured B cells from MS patients (n = 21) and healthy individuals (n = 34) under T helper 1‐ and TLR9‐inducing conditions. Their CNS transmigration capacity was confirmed using brain endothelial monolayers.

Results

CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3)‐expressing B cells were enriched in different CNS compartments of MS patients. Treatment with the clinically effective drug natalizumab prevented the recruitment of CXCR3^high IgG1⁺ subsets, corresponding to their increased ability to cross CNS barriers in vitro. Blocking of interferon‐γ (IFNγ) reduced the transmigration potential and antigen‐presenting function of these cells. IFNγ‐induced B cells from MS patients showed increased T‐bet expression and plasmablast development. Additional TLR9 triggering further upregulated T‐bet and CXCR3, and was essential for IgG1 switching.

Interpretation

This study demonstrates that T‐bet^high IgG1⁺ B cells are triggered by IFNγ and TLR9 signals, likely contributing to enhanced CXCR3‐mediated recruitment and local reactivity in the CNS of MS patients. ANN NEUROL 2019;86:264–278

The macrophage migration inhibitory factor pathway in human B cells is tightly controlled and dysregulated in multiple sclerosis

In MS, B cells survive peripheral tolerance checkpoints to mediate local inflammation, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are relatively underexplored. In mice, the MIF pathway controls B-cell development and the induction of EAE. Here, we found that MIF and MIF receptor CD74 are downregulated, while MIF receptor CXCR4 is upregulated in B cells from early onset MS patients. B cells were identified as the main immune subset in blood expressing MIF. Blocking of MIF and CD74 signaling in B cells triggered CXCR4 expression, and vice versa, with separate effects on their proinflammatory activity, proliferation, and sensitivity to Fas-mediated apoptosis. This study reveals a new reciprocal negative regulation loop between CD74 and CXCR4 in human B cells. The disturbance of this loop during MS onset provides further insights into how pathogenic B cells survive peripheral tolerance checkpoints to mediate disease activity in MS.

IgE-expressing memory B cells and plasmablasts are increased in blood of children with asthma, food allergy, and atopic dermatitis

Despite the critical role of soluble IgE in the pathology of IgE-mediated allergic disease, little is known about abnormalities in the memory B cells and plasma cells that produce IgE in allergic patients. We here applied a flow cytometric approach to cross-sectionally study blood IgE+ memory B cells and plasmablasts in 149 children with atopic dermatitis, food allergy, and/or asthma and correlated these to helper T(h)2 cells and eosinophils. Children with allergic disease had increased numbers of IgE+CD27- and IgE+CD27+ memory B cells and IgE+ plasmablasts, as well as increased numbers of eosinophils and Th2 cells. IgE+ plasmablast numbers correlated positively with Th2 cell numbers. These findings open new possibilities for diagnosis and monitoring of treatment in patients with allergic diseases.

Dopamine induces lipid accumulation, NADPH oxidase-related oxidative stress, and a proinflammatory status of the plasma membrane in H9c2 cells

Excess catecholamine levels are suggested to be cardiotoxic and to underlie stress-induced heart failure. The cardiotoxic effects of norepinephrine and epinephrine are well recognized. However, although cardiac and circulating dopamine levels are also increased in stress cardiomyopathy patients, knowledge regarding putative toxic effects of excess dopamine levels on cardiomyocytes is scarce. We now studied the effects of elevated dopamine levels in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. H9c2 cells were cultured and treated with dopamine (200 μM) for 6, 24, and 48 h. Subsequently, the effects on lipid accumulation, cell viability, flippase activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, subcellular NADPH oxidase (NOX) protein expression, and ATP/ADP and GTP/GDP levels were analyzed. Dopamine did not result in cytotoxic effects after 6 h. However, after 24 and 48 h dopamine treatment induced a significant increase in lipid accumulation, nitrotyrosine levels, indicative of ROS production, and cell death. In addition, dopamine significantly reduced flippase activity and ATP/GTP levels, coinciding with phosphatidylserine exposure on the outer plasma membrane. Furthermore, dopamine induced a transient increase in cytoplasmic and (peri)nucleus NOX1 and NOX4 expression after 24 h that subsided after 48 h. Moreover, while dopamine induced a similar transient increase in cytoplasmic NOX2 and p47^phox expression, in the (peri)nucleus this increased expression persisted for 48 h where it colocalized with ROS. Exposure of H9c2 cells to elevated dopamine levels induced lipid accumulation, oxidative stress, and a proinflammatory status of the plasma membrane. This can, in part, explain the inflammatory response in patients with stress-induced heart failure.

Atrial fibrillation coincides with the advanced glycation end product N(ε)-(carboxymethyl)lysine in the atrium

Presence of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the heart induces a proinflammatory phenotype. However, the presence of AGEs within atrial tissue of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients is unknown and was analyzed here. Left atrial appendage tissue from 33 AF patients and 9 controls was analyzed for the presence of the major AGEs N(ε)-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML), VCAM-1, neutrophilic granulocytes, lymphocytes, and macrophages in both the fat tissue and myocardium separately. The total amount of fibrosis was also analyzed. Presence of CML was significantly higher in blood vessels of the left atrial appendage in AF patients as compared to controls, independent of diabetes mellitus. In AF patients, VCAM-1 expression in blood vessels and the numbers of infiltrated neutrophilic granulocytes, lymphocytes, and macrophages significantly increased compared to controls, and were highest in the fat tissue; there was no significant difference in fibrosis compared to controls. Interestingly, total amount of CML and fibrosis in AF and control patients correlated positively. Finally, there was no difference between AF patients based on AF type or surgical indication in the presence of CML, VCAM-1 expression, inflammatory cells, and fibrosis. Our results indicate that in AF the intramyocardial blood vessels of the left atrial appendage have an increased CML presence and proinflammatory status coinciding with a local increase in the number of inflammatory cells.

Myocardial infarction induces atrial inflammation that can be prevented by C1-esterase inhibitor

AIMS

Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction (MI). Whether MI induces atrial inflammation is unknown however. Here, we analysed atrial inflammation in patients with MI and in rats with experimentally induced MI. The effect of the anti-inflammatory agent C1-esterase inhibitor (C1inh) on atrial inflammation in rats was also analysed.

METHODS

In the hearts of patients who died at different time points after MI (total n=24, mean age=60), neutrophils (myeloperoxidase-positive cells), lymphocytes (CD45-positive cells) and macrophages (CD68-positive cells) were quantified in the myocardium of the left and right atria and the infarcted left and non-infarcted right ventricles and compared with control patients (n=5, mean age=59). For the left and right atria, inflammatory cells were also quantified in the atrial adipose tissue. MI was induced in 17 rats, of which 10 were subsequently treated with C1inh for 6 days. Forty-two days post-MI, lymphocytes, macrophages and the endothelial inflammation marker N^ε-(carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) were analysed in the myocardium of both the atria and ventricles.

RESULTS

In all investigated areas of the human hearts increased lymphocytes and macrophages were observed to a varying extent, especially between 6 h and 5 days following MI. Similarly, in rats MI resulted in an increase of inflammatory cells and CML in the atria. C1inh treatment decreased atrial inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS

MI induces atrial inflammation in patients and in rats. C1inh treatment could counteract this MI-induced atrial inflammation in rats.

Ventricular myocarditis coincides with atrial myocarditis in patients

INTRODUCTION

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication in myocarditis. Atrial inflammation has been suggested to play an important role in the pathophysiology of AF. However, little is known about the occurrence of atrial inflammation in myocarditis patients. Here, we analyzed inflammatory cell numbers in the atria of myocarditis patients without symptomatic AF.

METHODS

Cardiac tissue was obtained postmortem from lymphocytic myocarditis patients (n=6), catecholamine-induced myocarditis patients (n=5), and control patients without pathological evidence of heart disease (n=5). Tissue sections of left and right ventricle and left and right atrium were stained for myeloperoxidase (neutrophilic granulocytes), CD45 (lymphocytes), and CD68 (macrophages). These cells were subsequently quantified in atrial and ventricular myocardium and atrial adipose tissue.

RESULTS

In lymphocytic myocarditis patients, a significant increase was observed for lymphocytes in the left atrial adipose tissue. In catecholamine-induced myocarditis patients, significant increases were found in the atria for all three inflammatory cell types. Infiltrating inflammatory cell numbers in the atrial myocardium correlated positively with those in the ventricles, especially in catecholamine-induced myocarditis patients.

CONCLUSIONS

To a varying extent, atrial myocarditis occurs concurrently with ventricular myocarditis in patients diagnosed with myocarditis of different etiology. This provides a substrate that potentially predisposes myocarditis patients to the development of AF and subsequent complications such as sudden cardiac death and heart failure.