Insights into the heterogeneity of human B cells: diverse functions, roles in autoimmunity, and use as therapeutic targets.
B cells are critical players in the orchestration of properly regulated immune responses, providing protection against infectious agents without inflicting autoinflammatory damage. A balanced B cell compartment is also essential to create protective immunity in response to vaccines. This difficult compromise is achieved through the finely regulated participation of multiple B cell populations with different antibody-dependent and independent functions. Both types of functions allow B cells to powerfully modulate other components of the innate and adaptive immune system. For the most part, however, the necessary division of labor among different B cell populations is poorly understood. B cell dysfunction has been implicated in multiple autoimmune conditions. The physiological importance and complexity of B cell functions has been brought to the fore in recent years by the success of rituximab-based B cell depletion therapy (BCDT) in multiple autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS) which are conventionally viewed as T-cell mediated conditions. Given the widespread utilization of BCDT in malignant and autoimmune diseases and the key role of B cells in both protective immunity and pathogenic autoimmunity, a better understanding of B cell functions is of the essence and a focus of the research in our division. We are investigating these issues through a variety of approaches, including the study of the phenotype and function of human B cell populations in health, their perturbation in autoimmune disease states, the effects of targeted biologic therapies, and the study of relevant murine models.
Anolik
Jennifer H
JH
Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, University of Rochester Medical Center, NY 14642, USA.
Looney
R John
RJ
Lund
Frances E
FE
Randall
Troy D
TD
Sanz
Iñaki
I
D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion / Q000379:methods; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological
D016207:Cytokines