Significant decrease in peripheral regulatory B cells is an immunopathogenic feature of dermatomyositis.
Regulatory B cells (Bregs) are critical in maintaining self-tolerance. Their role in dermatomyositis (DM), an autoimmune disease characterized by inappropriate regulation of hyperactivated B and T cells, has not been clearly defined. In the current study, we performed flow cytometry analysis of studied CD19(+) CD24(high)CD38(high) Breg subpopulations in blood samples from 30 patients with DM, 37 diseased controls and 23 healthy controls. A significant decrease was observed in the frequency of Bregs in DM patients compared to that in diseased controls (p < 0.0001) and in healthy controls (p < 0.0001). And the prevalence of Bregs deficiency (defined as Bregs/B cells < 0.50% in this study) in DM patients went as high as 73.3%. Furthermore, DM patients with positive myositis specific autoantibody often had lower Bregs levels than negative patients (p = 0.036), and lower level of Bregs was also found in DM patients with interstitial lung disease than in DM patients without (p = 0.041). In a follow-up study, seven DM patients were considered to be in remission stage, and their Breg levels were found to have significantly increased after treatment (p = 0.022). Our research revealed that Breg deficiency is an immunopathogenic feature of DM and provided insights into the design of new immunotherapy target for DM clinical interventions.
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Wenli
W
Li
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xiaolan
X
Tian
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xin
X
Lu
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Qinglin
Q
Peng
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xiaoming
X
Shu
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Hanbo
H
Yang
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Yuanli
Y
Li
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Yan
Y
Wang
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Xuezhi
X
Zhang
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Qingyan
Q
Liu
Department of Rheumatology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Guochun
G
Wang
D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology; D060151:B-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D003882:Dermatomyositis / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008297:Male
D015703:Antigens, CD; D016207:Cytokines