title: Disturbances in B- and T-cell homeostasis in rheumatoid arthritis: suggested relationships with antigen-driven immune responses.
abstract: Naïve and memory B- and T-cell subsets were examined with three-color flow cytometry in the peripheral blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in comparison with healthy controls, and their association with disease duration, activity and autoantibodies was investigated in order to reveal potential imprints of antigen-specific immune response in RA. The B-cell population consisted of significantly less naïve (58.1+/-3.9% versus 68.7+/-3.7%; p=0.04), and more IgD-/CD27+ memory B cells (19.6+/-2.1% versus 13.7+/-2.1%; p=0.04) compared to healthy subjects. In addition, strong correlation was demonstrated between disease duration and the percentage of memory B cells (p<0.0001). Increased CD8+ terminally differentiated effector memory/central memory T-cell ratio (1.35+/-0.35 versus 0.84+/-0.24) was also detected in RA patients compared with controls, which also correlated with the duration of RA (p=0.005). The frequency of memory B cells and CD8+ effector memory T cells correlated with the proportion of CD4+ effector memory lymphocytes, suggesting cooperation between immune cells. Our results reflect disturbances in B- and T-cell homeostasis characterized by the accumulation of memory B cells and a shift towards CD8+ terminally differentiated effector memory T cells in RA, suggesting ongoing, antigen-driven immune response and accelerated differentiation of B and T lymphocytes into effector cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, 3rd Department of Medicine, Medical and Health Science Center, University of Debrecen, 22 Moricz Street, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fekete
authors.forename: Lilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soos
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szekanecz
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szabo
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Szodoray
authors.forename: Sandor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barath
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lakos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000097:blood