Humans with chronic granulomatous disease maintain humoral immunologic memory despite low frequencies of circulating memory B cells

S Moir, SS De Ravin, BH Santich… - Blood, The Journal …, 2012 - ashpublications.org
S Moir, SS De Ravin, BH Santich, JY Kim, JG Posada, J Ho, CM Buckner, W Wang…
Blood, The Journal of the American Society of Hematology, 2012ashpublications.org
CD27+ memory B cells are reduced in the blood of patients with chronic granulomatous
disease (CGD) for reasons and consequences that remain unclear. Here we confirm not
only decreased CD27+ but also IgG+ B cells in the blood of CGD patients compared with
healthy donors (HDs). However, among IgG+ B cells, the ratio of CD27− to CD27+ was
significantly higher in CGD patients compared with HDs. Similar to conventional memory B
cells, CD27− IgG+ B cells of CGD patients expressed activation markers and had undergone …
Abstract
CD27+ memory B cells are reduced in the blood of patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) for reasons and consequences that remain unclear. Here we confirm not only decreased CD27+ but also IgG+ B cells in the blood of CGD patients compared with healthy donors (HDs). However, among IgG+ B cells, the ratio of CD27 to CD27+ was significantly higher in CGD patients compared with HDs. Similar to conventional memory B cells, CD27IgG+ B cells of CGD patients expressed activation markers and had undergone somatic hypermutation, albeit at levels lower than their CD27+ counterparts. Functional analyses revealed slight reductions in frequencies of total IgG but not influenza-specific memory B-cell responses, as measured by Elispot in CGD patients compared with HDs. Serum IgG levels and influenza-specific antibodies were also normal in these CGD patients. Finally, we provide evidence that influenza-specific memory B cells can be present within the CD27IgG+ B-cell compartment. Together, these findings show that, despite reduced circulating CD27+ memory B cells, CGD patients maintain an intact humoral immunologic memory, with potential contribution from CD27 B cells.
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