title: The plasma cell signature in autoimmune disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Production of pathogenic autoantibodies by self-reactive plasma cells (PCs) is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases. We undertook this study to investigate the prevalence of PCs and their relationship to known pathogenic pathways to increase our understanding of the role of PCs in disease progression and treatment response.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed a sensitive gene expression-based method to overcome the challenges of measuring PCs using flow cytometry. Whole-genome microarray analysis of sorted cellular fractions identified a panel of genes, IGHA1, IGJ, IGKC, IGKV4-1, and TNFRSF17, expressed predominantly in PCs. The sensitivity of the PC signature score created from the combined expression levels of these genes was assessed through ex vivo experiments with sorted cells. This PC gene expression signature was used for monitoring changes in PC levels following anti-CD19 therapy, for evaluating the relationship between PCs and other autoimmune disease-related genes, and for estimating PC levels in affected blood and tissue from patients with multiple autoimmune diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PC signature was highly sensitive and capable of detecting a change in as few as 360 PCs. The PC signature was reduced more than 90% in scleroderma patients following anti-CD19 treatment, and this reduction was highly correlated (r = 0.80) with inhibition of collagen gene expression. Evaluation of multiple autoimmune diseases revealed that 30-35% of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients had increased levels of PCs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This newly developed PC signature provides a robust and accurate method of measuring PC levels in the clinic. Our results highlight subsets of patients across multiple autoimmune diseases who may benefit from PC-depleting therapy.
authors.affiliation: MedImmune, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Streicher
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Morehouse
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Groves
authors.forename: Bhargavi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pilataxi
authors.forename: Kim P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Lehmann
authors.forename: Philip Z
authors.initials: PZ
authors.lastname: Brohawn
authors.forename: Brandon W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Higgs
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McKeever
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fiorentino
authors.forename: Laura K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Richman
authors.forename: Bahija
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jallal
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herbst
authors.forename: Yihong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Koustubh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ranade
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000235:genetics; D053301:B-Cell Maturation Antigen / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007144:Immunoglobulin J-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000235:genetics; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000235:genetics*; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D053301:B-Cell Maturation Antigen; D007144:Immunoglobulin J-Chains; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains; D007136:Immunoglobulins; C452824:IGHA1 protein, human; C086966:TNFRSF17 protein, human