Invariant natural killer (iNK) T cell deficiency in patients with common variable immunodeficiency.
Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a B cell immunodeficiency disorder characterized frequently by failure of memory B cell development and antibody secretion. A unifying cellular pathogenesis for CVID has not been forthcoming, but given the immunoregulatory role of invariant NK (iNK) T cells and their absence in several other immunodeficiencies, we quantified these cells in the blood of 58 CVID patients. There was a marked decrease in the proportion of iNK T cells in CVID patients compared with controls. This was particularly notable in those with low isotype-switched memory B cells, but subset analysis demonstrated no difference when stratified by specific clinical features. We propose that the decreased proportion of iNK T cells in CVID might be linked to the failure of memory B cell generation, which may contribute to reduced antibody production in these patients.
Fulcher
D A
DA
Immunology Unit, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia. david_fulcher@wmi.usyd.edu.au
Avery
D T
DT
Fewings
N L
NL
Berglund
L J
LJ
Wong
S
S
Riminton
D S
DS
Adelstein
S
S
Tangye
S G
SG
D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017074:Common Variable Immunodeficiency / Q000276:immunology*; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D017578:Immunoglobulin Class Switching; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D055611:Natural Killer T-Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors