Patients with common variable immunodeficiency with autoimmune cytopenias exhibit hyperplastic yet inefficient germinal center responses
Background The lack of pathogen-protective, isotype-switched antibodies in patients with
common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) suggests germinal center (GC) hypoplasia, yet a
subset of patients with CVID is paradoxically affected by autoantibody-mediated
autoimmune cytopenias (AICs) and lymphadenopathy. Objective We sought to compare the
physical characteristics and immunologic output of GC responses in patients with CVID with
AIC (CVID+ AIC) and without AIC (CVID− AIC). Methods We analyzed GC size and shape in …
common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) suggests germinal center (GC) hypoplasia, yet a
subset of patients with CVID is paradoxically affected by autoantibody-mediated
autoimmune cytopenias (AICs) and lymphadenopathy. Objective We sought to compare the
physical characteristics and immunologic output of GC responses in patients with CVID with
AIC (CVID+ AIC) and without AIC (CVID− AIC). Methods We analyzed GC size and shape in …