Bone marrow CD34+ progenitor cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients support spontaneous transformation of peripheral blood B cells from healthy individuals.
We show that bone marrow (BM) CD34+ progenitor cells from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have the capacity to support spontaneous transformation of peripheral blood B cells. CD34+ cells purified from BM blood from eight RA patients and eight osteoarthritis (OA) patients were expanded with granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for 4-6 weeks. GM-CSF-stimulated BM CD34+ cells from three of eight RA patients, but none from seven OA patients, gave rise to spontaneous transformation of highly purified B cells of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-seronegative healthy donors. GM-CSF-stimulated BM CD34+ cells from four of six RA patients and from one of four OA patients also supported the spontaneous transformation of peripheral blood B cells from EBV-seropositive healthy donors. All the transformed B cell lines were positive for EBV-DNA as determined by PCR. Neither GM-CSF-stimulated BM CD34+ cells alone nor highly purified B cells alone gave rise to spontaneously transformed B cell lines. These results suggest that the capacity of BM CD34+ cells to support survival of B cells might contribute to the pathogenesis of RA by sustaining abnormal B cell responses.
Hirohata
S
S
Department of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. shunsei@med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
Yanagida
T
T
Nakamura
H
H
Yoshino
S
S
Tomita
T
T
Ochi
T
T
D018941:Antigens, CD19 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002452:Cell Count; D048429:Cell Size; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000276:immunology; D019089:Stem Cell Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*
D018941:Antigens, CD19; D018952:Antigens, CD34; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D018950:Lipopolysaccharide Receptors; D019089:Stem Cell Factor; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor