title: In multiple sclerosis, oligoclonal bands connect to peripheral B-cell responses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine to what extent oligoclonal band (OCB) specificities are clonally interrelated and to what degree they are associated with corresponding B-cell responses in the peripheral blood (PB) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mass-spectrometric proteomic analysis of isoelectric focused (IEF) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immunoglobulin G (IgG) was used in combination with next-generation deep-immune repertoire sequencing of PB and CSF IgG heavy chain variable regions from MS patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We find evidence for ongoing stimulation and maturation to antibody-expressing B cells to occur primarily inside the central nervous system (CNS) compartment. B cells participating in OCB production can also be identified in PB; these cells appear to migrate across the blood-brain barrier and may also undergo further antigen stimulation in the periphery. In individual patients, different bands comprising OCBs are clonally related.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data provide a high-resolution molecular analysis of OCBs and strongly support the concept that OCBs are not merely the terminal result of a targeted immune response in MS but represent a component of active B cell immunity that is dynamically supported on both sides of the blood-brain barrier.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
authors.forename: Jaishree
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bankoti
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Apeltsin
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Matthew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Albertolle
authors.forename: H Ewa
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Witkowska
authors.forename: H-Christian
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: von Büdingen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology; D043025:Oligoclonal Bands / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D020543:Proteome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D043025:Oligoclonal Bands; D020543:Proteome