The long and the short of it: insights into the cellular source of autoantibodies as revealed by B cell depletion therapy.

The long and the short of it: insights into the cellular source of autoantibodies as revealed by B cell depletion therapy. Curr Opin Immunol. 2018 Oct 31;55:81-88 Authors: Hale M, Rawlings DJ, Jackson SW Abstract High titers of pathogenic autoantibodies are a hallmark of many autoimmune diseases. However, much remains unknown about the self-reactive plasma cells that are key mediators of disease. We propose a model in which the varying efficacy of precursor B cell depletion for the treatment of humoral autoimmunity can be explained by differences in the relative contributions of pathogenic antibodies by short-lived versus long-lived plasma cells. Beyond therapeutic considerations, this model suggests that we can infer the cellular source of disease-associated autoantibodies by the durability of serum titers following B cell depletion. Data from clinical trials and animal models across different autoimmune diseases may provide useful insights into the lifespan, lifestyle and fate of autoreactive plasma cells. PMID: 30390507 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Immunol Source Type: research