Increased Ig-null B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of pediatric solid organ transplant recipients with elevated Epstein-Barr viral loads.
In this study, the characteristics of Ig-null B cells in high viral load carriers were examined by four-color flow cytometry. The frequency of Ig-null B cells in patients with high, low or undetectable virus loads was found that while patients with a high load had more Ig-null cells, these cells were also present in the low and undetectable load groups. As Ig-null cells from patients with no viral load were EBV-negative, EBV infection was not absolutely required for the generation or survival of Ig-null cells. Ig-null cells were CD19(+), sIg(-), CD5(-), CD10(-), CD27(-), CD23(-), CD38(-), and CD69(-) with variable surface expression of CD20 and CD40. Ig-null cells did not have a proliferating cell phenotype (Ki67(-)) and a high proportion were HLA class I(-) and class II(-). Virus copy number in CD19(+) Ig-null cell populations may be much higher than in CD19(+) Ig(+) cell populations. EBV infected Ig-null cells were common in blood specimens from pediatric solid organ transplant recipients and infected Ig-null cells may pose potential problems for immunotherapies that target infected B cells directly.
Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. elizabeth.schauer@gmail.com
Elizabeth
E
Schauer
Steven
S
Webber
Laurence
L
Kingsley
Michael
M
Green
David
D
Rowe
D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D019562:Viral Load