Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an JiaoTong University, Xi'an, 710061, China.
Clin Rheumatol. 2018 Jan;37(1):205-212. doi: 10.1007/s10067-017-3877-1. Epub 2017 Oct 25.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, characterized by B cell hyperactivity and pathogenic autoantibodies formation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the distribution of B cell subsets in patients with SLE. We included patients with SLE followed in First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an JiaoTong University, Xi'an, China. Flow cytometry was used to measure frequencies of B cell subsets, including memory B cells, switched memory B cells, non-switched memory B cells, double-negative memory B cells, and naïve B cells in 130 patients with SLE and 55 healthy controls. The different distributions of B cell subsets were further evaluated by their associations with disease activity and clinical manifestation. SLE patients showed significant alteration of B cell subsets, including lower frequency of non-switched memory B cells and higher double-negative memory B cells. The frequencies of B cell subsets also varied between new-onset SLE patients and chronic SLE patients. Frequencies of total memory B cells, switched memory B cells, and non-switched memory B cells were lower in new-onset SLE patients and frequency of naïve B cells was higher compared with healthy controls. Chronic SLE patients showed increased switched memory B cells and double-negative memory B cells. In addition, switched memory B cells and double-negative B cells were higher in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) regardless of disease activity. Our findings suggested that abnormalities of the B cell subsets homeostasis might contribute to the pathogenesis of SLE.
系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）是一种慢性全身性自身免疫性疾病，其特征是 B 细胞过度活跃和致病性自身抗体的形成。本研究旨在评估 SLE 患者 B 细胞亚群的分布。我们纳入了在西安交通大学第一附属医院就诊的 SLE 患者。采用流式细胞术检测 130 例 SLE 患者和 55 例健康对照者的 B 细胞亚群（记忆 B 细胞、转换记忆 B 细胞、非转换记忆 B 细胞、双阴性记忆 B 细胞和幼稚 B 细胞）频率。通过分析 B 细胞亚群与疾病活动度和临床表现的关系，进一步评估其分布差异。SLE 患者 B 细胞亚群存在明显改变，包括非转换记忆 B 细胞频率降低和双阴性记忆 B 细胞频率升高。初发 SLE 患者和慢性 SLE 患者的 B 细胞亚群频率也不同。初发 SLE 患者的总记忆 B 细胞、转换记忆 B 细胞和非转换记忆 B 细胞频率较低，幼稚 B 细胞频率较高，与健康对照组相比。慢性 SLE 患者的转换记忆 B 细胞和双阴性记忆 B 细胞频率增加。此外，无论疾病活动度如何，狼疮肾炎（LN）患者的转换记忆 B 细胞和双阴性 B 细胞均较高。我们的研究结果表明，B 细胞亚群稳态的异常可能导致 SLE 的发病机制。
