Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic skin condition affecting approximately 1% of the US population. HS skin lesions are highly inflammatory and characterized by a large immune infiltrate. While B cells and plasma cells comprise a major component of this immune milieu, the biology and the contribution of these cells in HS pathogenesis are unclear. We aimed to investigate the dynamics and microenvironmental interactions of B cells within cutaneous HS lesions. Combining histological analysis, single-cell RNA sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics profiling of HS lesions, we defined the tissue microenvironment relative to B cell activity within this disease. Our findings identified tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) within HS lesions and described organized interactions among T cells, B cells, antigen-presenting cells, and skin stroma. We found evidence that B cells within HS TLSs actively underwent maturation, including participation in germinal center reactions and class switch recombination. Moreover, skin stroma and accumulating T cells were primed to support the formation of TLSs and facilitate B cell recruitment during HS. Our data definitively demonstrated the presence of TLSs in lesional HS skin and point to ongoing cutaneous B cell maturation through class switch recombination and affinity maturation during disease progression in this inflamed nonlymphoid tissue.
Hidradenitis Suppurativa , Tertiary Lymphoid Structures , Humans , Hidradenitis Suppurativa/pathology , Tertiary Lymphoid Structures/pathology , Skin/pathology , B-Lymphocytes/pathology , T-Lymphocytes/pathology
Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) skin lesions are highly inflammatory and characterized by a large immune infiltrate. While B cells and plasma cells comprise a major component of this immune milieu the biology and contribution of these cells in HS pathogenesis is unclear. Objective: We aimed to investigate the dynamics and microenvironmental interactions of B cells within cutaneous HS lesions. Methods: We combined histological analysis, single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNAseq), and spatial transcriptomic profiling of HS lesions to define the tissue microenvironment relative to B cell activity within this disease. Results: Our findings identify tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) within HS lesions and describe organized interactions between T cells, B cells, antigen presenting cells and skin stroma. We find evidence that B cells within HS TLS actively undergo maturation, including participation in germinal center reactions and class switch recombination. Moreover, skin stroma and accumulating T cells are primed to support the formation of TLS and facilitate B cell recruitment during HS. Conclusion: Our data definitively demonstrate the presence of TLS in lesional HS skin and point to ongoing cutaneous B cell maturation through class switch recombination and affinity maturation during disease progression in this inflamed non-lymphoid tissue.
The skeletal muscle microenvironment transiently remodels and stiffens after exercise and injury, as muscle ages, and in myopathic muscle; however, how these changes in stiffness affect resident muscle stem cells (MuSCs) remains understudied. Following muscle injury, muscle stiffness remained elevated after morphological regeneration was complete, accompanied by activated and proliferative MuSCs. To isolate the role of stiffness on MuSC behavior and determine the underlying mechanotransduction pathways, we cultured MuSCs on strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition hydrogels capable of in situ stiffening by secondary photocrosslinking of excess cyclooctynes. Using pre- to post-injury stiffness hydrogels, we found that elevated stiffness enhances migration and MuSC proliferation by localizing yes-associated protein 1 (YAP) and WW domain-containing transcription regulator 1 (WWTR1; TAZ) to the nucleus. Ablating YAP and TAZ in vivo promotes MuSC quiescence in postinjury muscle and prevents myofiber hypertrophy, demonstrating that persistent exposure to elevated stiffness activates mechanotransduction signaling maintaining activated and proliferating MuSCs.
