Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Ashworth Labs, Edinburgh, UK.
Eur J Immunol. 2010 Oct;40(10):2677-9. doi: 10.1002/eji.201040961.
B cells are now acknowledged to play multiple roles in the immune response, in addition to making antibodies. Their role in regulating T-cell responses during inflammation has come into focus recently. Thus, IL-10 production by B cells has been shown to be important in limiting auto-reactive and pathogen-driven immune pathology; however, the exact identity of the regulatory B cells remains elusive; do they belong to a committed subset or can all B cells regulate given the appropriate inducing stimuli? A study in this issue of the European Journal of Immunology provides insight into the IL-10-producing B cells in humans, suggesting that many B cells have the capacity to make IL-10 when optimally stimulated via the BCR and TLR9. Despite producing significant amounts of inflammatory cytokines as well, these B cells suppress T-cell proliferation. This Commentary places this study in the context of what we think we know about regulatory B cells and more importantly highlights the questions we still need to answer.
B 细胞除了产生抗体外，现在被认为在免疫反应中发挥多种作用。它们在炎症过程中调节 T 细胞反应的作用最近成为焦点。因此，B 细胞产生的 IL-10 被证明在限制自身反应性和病原体驱动的免疫病理中很重要；然而，确切的调节性 B 细胞的身份仍然难以捉摸；它们属于一个特定的亚群，还是所有 B 细胞在给予适当的诱导刺激时都可以调节？本期《欧洲免疫学杂志》的一项研究为人类的 IL-10 产生 B 细胞提供了深入了解，表明许多 B 细胞在通过 BCR 和 TLR9 得到最佳刺激时具有产生 IL-10 的能力。尽管这些 B 细胞也产生大量的炎症细胞因子，但它们抑制 T 细胞增殖。本评论将这项研究置于我们对调节性 B 细胞的了解范围内，并更重要的是强调了我们仍需要回答的问题。
