Artikel
Local T/B cooperation in inflamed tissues is supported by a unique population of B helper T cells distinct from T follicular helper cells
Suche in Medline nach
Autoren
-
Dana Vu Van
- Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin (DRFZ), Berlin
-
Katja C. Beier
- Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin
-
Maysun S. Al Baz
- Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin (DRFZ), Berlin
-
Randi K. Feist
- Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin (DRFZ), Berlin
-
Stephanie Gurka
- Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin
-
Eckard Hamelmann
- Klinik für Kinder und Jugendmedizin der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, St. Josef-Hospital, Bochum
-
Richard A. Kroczek
- Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin
-
Andreas Hutloff
- Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum Berlin (DRFZ), Chronische Immunreaktionen, Berlin
| Veröffentlicht: | 12. September 2014 |
|---|
Gliederung
Text
Background: Leucocytic infiltrates in peripheral tissues are frequently found in autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis but also in the lungs of asthma patients. These infiltrates typically contain antigen-specific T and B cells which contribute substantially to tissue destruction and immunopathology. T/B cooperation in tissues has been described for the case of ectopic lymphoid tissues. However, these structures are only rarely observed in human autoimmune conditions.
Methods: As a general model for T/B interaction in inflamed tissues, we developed a murine airway inflammation model in which antigen-specific T and B cells can be tracked simultaneously. This model easily allows to recover cells from the inflamed tissue and to compare them to their counterparts in the draining lymph node.
Results: The inflamed lung turned out to be the major reservoir for activated T and B cells. There, not only large numbers of plasma cells were found, but also B cells which exhibited a classical germinal center phenotype without being organized into ectopic lymphoid tissue. In contrast to lymph nodes, no classical CXCR5+ Bcl-6+ T follicular helper cells were present. Nevertheless, lung-infiltrating T cells exhibited follicular helper-like properties such as high expression of CD40L, IL-4, and IL-21, and provided full help to naïve B cells. The lung tissue also turned out to be a survival niche for antigen-specific memory B cells which remained present in residual peribronchial infiltrates after the inflammation was overcome.
Conclusion: This study shows the importance of T/B cooperation not only in lymph nodes but in inflamed peripheral tissues for local antibody responses in infection and autoimmunity.
