Recirculating Intestinal IgA-Producing Cells Regulate Neuroinflammation via IL-10.

Plasma cells (PC) are found in the CNS of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, yet their source and role in MS remains unclear. We find that some PC in the CNS of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) originate in the gut and produce immunoglobulin A (IgA). Moreover, we show that IgA+ PC are dramatically reduced in the gut during EAE, and likewise, a reduction in IgA-bound fecal bacteria is seen in MS patients during disease relapse. Removal of plasmablast (PB) plus PC resulted in exacerbated EAE that was normalized by the introduction of gut-derived IgA+ PC. Furthermore, mice with an over-abundance of IgA+ PB and/or PC were specifically resistant to the effector stage of EAE, and expression of interleukin (IL)-10 by PB plus PC was necessary and sufficient to confer resistance. Our data show that IgA+ PB and/or PC mobilized from the gut play an unexpected role in suppressing neuroinflammation.

SARS-CoV-2-Reactive Mucosal B Cells in the Upper Respiratory Tract of Uninfected Individuals.

SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory pathogen that can cause severe disease in at-risk populations but results in asymptomatic infections or a mild course of disease in the majority of cases. We report the identification of SARS-CoV-2-reactive B cells in human tonsillar tissue obtained from children who were negative for coronavirus disease 2019 prior to the pandemic and the generation of mAbs recognizing the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein from these B cells. These Abs showed reduced binding to Spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants and did not recognize Spike proteins of endemic coronaviruses, but subsets reacted with commensal microbiota and exhibited SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing potential. Our study demonstrates pre-existing SARS-CoV-2-reactive Abs in various B cell populations in the upper respiratory tract lymphoid tissue that may lead to the rapid engagement of the pathogen and contribute to prevent manifestations of symptomatic or severe disease.

FCRL4 Is an Fc Receptor for Systemic IgA, but Not Mucosal Secretory IgA.

Fc receptor-like (FCRL) 4 is an immunoregulatory receptor expressed on a subpopulation of human memory B cells of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue. Fc receptor function of FCRL4 was demonstrated by binding of IgA to FCRL4 following heat aggregation of the Ig. In this study, we demonstrate that FCRL4 recognizes J chain-linked systemic IgA in the absence of heat aggregation. We further demonstrate that mucosal secretory IgA is not recognized by FCRL4 and that systemic IgA binding can be competitively inhibited by recombinant secretory component protein. Finally, we provide evidence that primary FCRL4-bearing human memory B cells are constitutively bound to IgA. Our study provides a mechanism for the negative regulatory activity of FCRL4 on AgR-mediated B cell activation.

Isotype-Switched Autoantibodies Are Necessary To Facilitate Central Nervous System Autoimmune Disease in Aicda-/- and Ung-/- Mice.

B cell-depleting therapies have been shown to ameliorate symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients; however, the mechanism of action remains unclear. Following priming with Ag, B cells undergo secondary diversification of their BCR, including BCR class-switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM), with both processes requiring the enzyme activation-induced (cytidine) deaminase. We previously reported that activation-induced (cytidine) deaminase is required for full clinical manifestation of disease in an animal model of MS (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; EAE) provoked by immunization with the extracellular domain of recombinant human myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (hMOG). In this study, we investigated the role of CSR versus SHM in the pathogenesis of EAE. We found that passive transfer of class-switched anti-MOG IgG1 Abs into hMOG-primed Aicda-/- mice is sufficient to fully rescue EAE disease. In addition, we found that the nature of the Ag is an important determinant of EAE severity in Aicda-/- mice because the lack of a diversified BCR does not affect the induction of EAE when immunized with the extracellular domain of rat MOG. To discriminate the effect of either CSR or SHM, we induced EAE in uracil DNA glycosylase-deficient mice (Ung-/-) that exhibit a defect primarily in CSR. We observed that Ung-/- mice exhibit milder clinical disease compared with control mice, concomitant with a reduced amount of anti-MOG IgG1 class-switched Abs that preserved normal affinity. Collectively, these results indicate that CSR plays an important role in governing the incidence and severity of EAE induced with hMOG but not rat MOG.

High throughput long-read sequencing of circulating lymphocytes of the evolutionarily distant sea lamprey reveals diversity and common elements of the variable lymphocyte receptor B (VLRB) repertoire.

The leucine-rich repeat-based variable lymphocyte receptor B (VLRB) antibody system of jawless vertebrates is capable of generating an antibody repertoire equal to or exceeding the diversity of antibody repertoires of jawed vertebrates. Unlike immunoglobulin-based immune repertoires, the VLRB repertoire diversity is characterized by variable lengths of VLRB encoding transcripts, rendering conventional immunoreceptor repertoire sequencing approaches unsuitable for VLRB repertoire sequencing. Here we demonstrate that long-read single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing (PacBio) approaches permit the efficient large-scale assessment of the VLRB repertoire. We present a computational pipeline for sequence data processing and provide the first repertoire-based analysis of VLRB protein characteristics including properties of its subunits and regions of diversity within each structural leucine-rich repeat subunit. Our study provides a template to explore changes in the VLRB repertoire during immune responses and to establish large scale VLRB repertoire databases for computational approaches aimed at isolating monoclonal VLRB reagents for biomedical research and clinical applications.

Detection and Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Using Non-conventional Variable Lymphocyte Receptor Antibodies of the Evolutionarily Distant Sea Lamprey.

SARS-CoV-2 is a newly emerged betacoronavirus and the causative agent for the COVID-19 pandemic. Antibodies recognizing the viral spike protein are instrumental in natural and vaccine-induced immune responses to the pathogen and in clinical diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Unlike conventional immunoglobulins, the variable lymphocyte receptor antibodies of jawless vertebrates are structurally distinct, indicating that they may recognize different epitopes. Here we report the isolation of monoclonal variable lymphocyte receptor antibodies from immunized sea lamprey larvae that recognize the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 but not of other coronaviruses. We further demonstrate that these monoclonal variable lymphocyte receptor antibodies can efficiently neutralize the virus and form the basis of a rapid, single step SARS-CoV-2 detection system. This study provides evidence for monoclonal variable lymphocyte receptor antibodies as unique biomedical research and potential clinical diagnostic reagents targeting SARS-CoV-2.

Detection of Human CD38 Using Variable Lymphocyte Receptor (VLR) Tetramers.

CD38 is a multifunctional cell surface receptor expressed on multiple cell lineages of hematopoietic origin with high levels of expression on human plasma cells. Previously, we isolated the monoclonal variable lymphocyte receptor B (VLRB) MM3 antibody from the evolutionarily distant sea lamprey, which recognized the CD38 ectoenzyme exclusively on human plasma cells in a manner that correlated with CD38 enzymatic activity. The plasma cell-specific binding of VLRB MM3 contrasts with the broad pattern of expression of CD38-determined conventional antibodies specific for this antigen. In an effort to facilitate the application of this unique reagent in combination with conventional antibody panels, we explored a strategy to generate VLRB MM3 tetramers. The resulting reagent maintained the threshold-based recognition of CD38. Increased sensitivity achieved with VLRB MM3 tetramers also showed preferential recognition of germinal center centroblasts over centrocytes. VLRB MM3 tetramers thus provided a unique and versatile single-step staining reagent for the detection of human CD38 that is readily incorporated into multi-color flow cytometry panels.

A tyrosine sulfation-dependent HLA-I modification identifies memory B cells and plasma cells.

Memory B cells and plasma cells are antigen-experienced cells tasked with the maintenance of humoral protection. Despite these prominent functions, definitive cell surface markers have not been identified for these cells. We report here the isolation and characterization of the monoclonal variable lymphocyte receptor B (VLRB) N8 antibody from the evolutionarily distant sea lamprey that specifically recognizes memory B cells and plasma cells in humans. Unexpectedly, we determined that VLRB N8 recognizes the human leukocyte antigen-I (HLA-I) antigen in a tyrosine sulfation-dependent manner. Furthermore, we observed increased binding of VLRB N8 to memory B cells in individuals with autoimmune disorders multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Our study indicates that lamprey VLR antibodies uniquely recognize a memory B cell- and plasma cell-specific posttranslational modification of HLA-I, the expression of which is up-regulated during B cell activation.