CD80 and PD-L2 define functionally distinct memory B cell subsets that are independent of antibody isotype.

Memory B cells (MBCs) are long-lived sources of rapid, isotype-switched secondary antibody-forming cell (AFC) responses. Whether MBCs homogeneously retain the ability to self-renew and terminally differentiate or if these functions are compartmentalized into MBC subsets has remained unclear. It has been suggested that antibody isotype controls MBC differentiation upon restimulation. Here we demonstrate that subcategorizing MBCs on the basis of their expression of CD80 and PD-L2, independently of isotype, identified MBC subsets with distinct functions upon rechallenge. CD80(+)PD-L2(+) MBCs differentiated rapidly into AFCs but did not generate germinal centers (GCs); conversely, CD80(-)PD-L2(-) MBCs generated few early AFCs but robustly seeded GCs. The gene-expression patterns of the subsets supported both the identity and function of these distinct MBC types. Hence, the differentiation and regeneration of MBCs are compartmentalized.

Memory B cells and plasma cells: The differentiative continuum of humoral immunity.

Immunological memory is a composite of lasting antibody titers maintained by plasma cells in conjunction with memory T and B cells. Memory B cells are a critical reservoir for plasma cell generation in the secondary response. Identification of memory B cells requires that they be distinguished from naïve, activated, and germinal center precursors and from plasma cells. Memory B cells are heterogeneous in isotype usage, immunoglobulin mutational content, and phenotypic marker expression. Phenotypic subsets of memory B cells are defined by PD-L2, CD80, and CD73 expression in mice, by CD27 and FCRL4 expression in humans and by T-bet in both mice and humans. These subsets display marked functional heterogeneity, including the ability to rapidly differentiate into plasma cells versus seed germinal centers in the secondary response. Memory B cells are located in the spleen, blood, other lymphoid organs, and barrier tissues, and recent evidence indicates that some memory B cells may be dedicated tissue-resident populations. Open questions about memory B cell longevity, renewal and progenitor-successor relationships with plasma cells are discussed.

Psychosocial burden of autoimmune blistering diseases: A comprehensive survey study.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune blistering diseases (AIBDs) are severe dermatologic disorders known for their debilitating physical impact. Recent research has reported that AIBDs lead to psychosocial impairment, including depression and anxiety. Missing from the extant literature is an examination of the impact of AIBDs on body image and related psychological constructs. OBJECTIVES: The current study seeks to characterize the psychological and social consequences of AIBD diagnosis, with particular attention to body image dissatisfaction. METHODS: We conducted a survey study of adults with AIBDs. The survey was open from February 2023 to March 2023. Validated self-report questionnaires assessed depressive symptomatology, body image disturbance and quality of life. Demographic information and self-reported psychiatric history before and after AIBD diagnosis were collected via self-report. Participants were 451 adults with AIBDs, recruited through the International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation newsletters, email distribution lists and social media. RESULTS: Participants reported increased incidence of psychiatric disorders following AIBD diagnosis. Participants reported high levels of depressive symptomatology and impairments to quality of life compared to other patient groups. The sample reported extremely high levels of body image disturbance, more so than other patients with disfiguring diseases or injury. Correlation analyses revealed significant relationships between body image variables and quality of life, even after controlling for depression. CONCLUSIONS: Current treatment guidelines for AIBDs focus primarily on the management of disease flares and the consequences of immunosuppression, without consideration of the psychosocial consequences of the disease. The current study underscores the need for mental health support for patients with AIBDs.

Bulk and single-nucleus RNA sequencing highlight immune pathways induced in individuals during an Ixodes scapularis tick bite.

Ticks are hematophagous arthropods that use a complex mixture of salivary proteins to evade host defenses while taking a blood meal. Little is known about the immunological and physiological consequences of tick feeding on humans. Here, we performed the first bulk and single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) of skin and blood of four persons presenting with naturally acquired, attached Ixodes scapularis ticks. Pathways and individual genes associated with innate and adaptive immunity were identified based on bulk RNA sequencing, including interleukin-17 signaling and platelet activation pathways at the site of tick attachment or in peripheral blood. snRNA-seq further revealed that the Hippo signaling, cell adhesion, and axon guidance pathways were involved in the response to an I. scapularis bite in humans. Features of the host response in these individuals also overlapped with that of laboratory guinea pigs exposed to I. scapularis and which acquired resistance to ticks. These findings offer novel insights for the development of new biomarkers for I. scapularis exposure and anti-tick vaccines for human use.

PD-1 regulates germinal center B cell survival and the formation and affinity of long-lived plasma cells.

Memory B and plasma cells (PCs) are generated in the germinal center (GC). Because follicular helper T cells (T(FH) cells) have high expression of the immunoinhibitory receptor PD-1, we investigated the role of PD-1 signaling in the humoral response. We found that the PD-1 ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2 were upregulated on GC B cells. Mice deficient in PD-L2 (Pdcd1lg2(-/-)), PD-L1 and PD-L2 (Cd274(-/-)Pdcd1lg2(-/-)) or PD-1 (Pdcd1(-/-)) had fewer long-lived PCs. The mechanism involved more GC cell death and less T(FH) cell cytokine production in the absence of PD-1; the effect was selective, as remaining PCs had greater affinity for antigen. PD-1 expression on T cells and PD-L2 expression on B cells controlled T(FH) cell and PC numbers. Thus, PD-1 regulates selection and survival in the GC, affecting the quantity and quality of long-lived PCs.

Inflammatory eruptions associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: A single-institution retrospective analysis with stratification of reactions by toxicity and implications for management.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing recognition of distinct inflammatory eruptions associated with checkpoint inhibitors. A better understanding of their severity, therapeutic response, and impact on cancer treatment is needed. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the different rashes associated with immunotherapy referred to our institution's oncodermatology clinic and inpatient consultative service and to evaluate their therapeutic response and impact on immunotherapy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients referred to the oncodermatology clinic or inpatient dermatology service during 2016-2018 at Yale-New Haven Hospital for eruptions that developed during immunotherapy. RESULTS: In total, 98 patients (51 men, 47 women) treated with checkpoint inhibitors developed 103 inflammatory eruptions, with a range of mean latency of 0.2-17.7 months. A minority of patients (25/103; 24.3%) required immunotherapy interruption; most of these cases involved immunobullous (7/8; 87.5%), lichenoid (8/26; 30.8%), maculopapular (6/18; 33.3%), and Stevens-Johnson syndrome-like (2/2, 100%) reactions. Only 3 of 16 (18.8%) patients who had their immunotherapy interrupted had a grade 2 or 3 flare on rechallenge. Most reactions (93/103; 90.3%) responded to dermatologic therapy or immunotherapy interruption. LIMITATIONS: This was a retrospective study from a single tertiary care center. CONCLUSION: A variety of inflammatory reactions might occur from immunotherapy with differing degrees of severity. While most rashes responded to topical treatment, immunobullous and exfoliative presentations frequently interrupted immunotherapy. Increased awareness and early recognition could reduce the need for unnecessary immunotherapy interruption.

Bullous disorders associated with anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 therapy: A retrospective analysis evaluating the clinical and histopathologic features, frequency, and impact on cancer therapy.

BACKGROUND: Bullous disorders associated with anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy are increasingly reported and may pose distinct therapeutic challenges. Their frequency and impact on cancer therapy are not well established. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and histopathologic findings, frequency, and impact on cancer therapy of bullous eruptions due to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients evaluated by the oncodermatology clinic and consultative service of Yale New Haven Hospital from 2016 to 2018. RESULTS: We identified 9 of 853 patients who developed bullous eruptions (∼1%) that were treated with an-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy at our institution during the study period: 7 presented with bullous pemphigoid, 1 presented with bullous lichenoid dermatitis, and 1 presented with linear IgA bullous dermatosis in the context of vancomycin therapy. In all, 8 patients required systemic steroids, 5 required maintenance therapy, and 8 required interruption of immunotherapy. All 9 patients had an initial positive tumor response or stable disease, but 4 went on to develop disease progression. LIMITATIONS: This was a retrospective study from a single tertiary care center. CONCLUSIONS: Bullous disorders developed in approximately 1% of patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy at our institution and frequently resulted in interruption of immune therapy and management with systemic corticosteroids and occasionally steroid-sparing agents.

Bullous systemic lupus erythematosus in a 6-year-old boy.

Bullous systemic lupus erythematosus (BSLE) is a rare subepidermal blistering disorder characterized by an acute vesiculobullous eruption in a subset of individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus. BSLE most commonly affects young women and only rarely affects children. Herein we report a rare case of BSLE in a 6-year-old boy.

Multiple transcription factor binding sites predict AID targeting in non-Ig genes.

Aberrant targeting of the enzyme activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) results in the accumulation of somatic mutations in ≈ 25% of expressed genes in germinal center B cells. Observations in Ung(-/-) Msh2(-/-) mice suggest that many other genes efficiently repair AID-induced lesions, so that up to 45% of genes may actually be targeted by AID. It is important to understand the mechanisms that recruit AID to certain genes, because this mistargeting represents an important risk for genome instability. We hypothesize that several mechanisms combine to target AID to each locus. To resolve which mechanisms affect AID targeting, we analyzed 7.3 Mb of sequence data, along with the regulatory context, from 83 genes in Ung(-/-) Msh2(-/-) mice to identify common properties of AID targets. This analysis identifies three transcription factor binding sites (E-box motifs, along with YY1 and C/EBP-ß binding sites) that may work together to recruit AID. Based on previous knowledge and these newly discovered features, a classification tree model was built to predict genome-wide AID targeting. Using this predictive model, we were able to identify a set of 101 high-interest genes that are likely targets of AID.

New markers for murine memory B cells that define mutated and unmutated subsets.

The study of murine memory B cells has been limited by small cell numbers and the lack of a definitive marker. We have addressed some of these difficulties with hapten-specific transgenic (Tg) mouse models that yield relatively large numbers of antigen-specific memory B cells upon immunization. Using these models, along with a 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) pulse-label strategy, we compared memory cells to their naive precursors in a comprehensive flow cytometric survey, thus revealing several new murine memory B cell markers. Most interestingly, memory cells were phenotypically heterogeneous. Particularly surprising was the finding of an unmutated memory B cell subset identified by the expression of CD80 and CD35. We confirmed these findings in an analogous V region knock-in mouse and/or in non-Tg mice. There also was anatomic heterogeneity, with BrdU(+) memory cells residing not just in the marginal zone, as had been thought, but also in splenic follicles. These studies impact the current understanding of murine memory B cells by identifying new phenotypes and by challenging assumptions about the location and V region mutation status of memory cells. The apparent heterogeneity in the memory compartment implies either different origins and/or different functions, which we discuss.

Enhanced alloresponse to platelet transfusion due to immune dysregulation following ablative chemotherapy in mice.

Introduction: Alloimmunization is common following platelet transfusion and can result in negative outcomes for recipients such as refractoriness to subsequent transfusions and rejection of transplants. Healthy people do not receive blood transfusions, and the diseases and therapies that result in a need to transfuse have significant impacts on the immunological environment to which these alloantigens are introduced. Ablative chemotherapies are common among platelet recipients and have potent immunological effects. In this study, we modeled the impact of chemotherapy on the alloresponse to platelet transfusion. As chemotherapies are generally regarded as immunosuppressive, we hypothesized that that they would result in a diminished alloresponse. Methods: Mice were given a combination chemotherapeutic treatment of cytarabine and doxorubicin followed by transfusion of allogeneic platelets, and compared to controls given no treatment, chemotherapy alone, or transfusion alone. Alloantibody responses were measured 2 weeks after transfusion, and cellular responses and growth factors were monitored over time. Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that chemotherapy led to increased alloantibody responses to allogeneic platelet transfusion. This enhanced response was antigen-specific and was associated with increased CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses. Chemotherapy led to rapid lymphocyte depletion followed by reconstitution, non-specific activation of transitional B cells with the highest levels of activation in the least mature subsets, and increased serum levels of B cell activating factor (BAFF). Conclusion: These data suggest that ablative chemotherapy can increase the risk of alloimmunization and, if confirmed clinically, that additional measures to protect these patient populations may be warranted.

Polyinosinic: polycytidylic acid induced inflammation enhances while lipopolysaccharide diminishes alloimmunity to platelet transfusion in mice.

Introduction: Alloimmune responses against platelet antigens, which dominantly target the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), can cause adverse reactions to subsequent platelet transfusions, platelet refractoriness, or rejection of future transplants. Platelet transfusion recipients include individuals experiencing severe bacterial or viral infections, and how their underlying health modulates platelet alloimmunity is not well understood. Methods: This study investigated the effect of underlying inflammation on platelet alloimmunization by modelling viral-like inflammation with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) or gram-negative bacterial infection with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), hypothesizing that underlying inflammation enhances alloimmunization. Mice were pretreated with poly(I:C), LPS, or nothing, then transfused with non-leukoreduced or leukoreduced platelets. Alloantibodies and allogeneic MHC-specific B cell (allo-B cell) responses were evaluated two weeks later. Rare populations of allo-B cells were identified using MHC tetramers. Results: Relative to platelet transfusion alone, prior exposure to poly(I:C) increased the alloantibody response to allogeneic platelet transfusion whereas prior exposure to LPS diminished responses. Prior exposure to poly(I:C) had equivalent, if not moderately diminished, allo-B cell responses relative to platelet transfusion alone and exhibited more robust allo-B cell memory development. Conversely, prior exposure to LPS resulted in diminished allo-B cell frequency, activation, antigen experience, and germinal center formation and altered memory B cell responses. Discussion: In conclusion, not all inflammatory environments enhance bystander responses and prior inflammation mediated by LPS on gram-negative bacteria may in fact curtail platelet alloimmunization.

Prior cycles of anti-CD20 antibodies affect antibody responses after repeated SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination.

BACKGROUNDWhile B cell depletion is associated with attenuated antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination, responses vary among individuals. Thus, elucidating the factors that affect immune responses after repeated vaccination is an important clinical need.METHODSWe evaluated the quality and magnitude of the T cell, B cell, antibody, and cytokine responses to a third dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 mRNA vaccine in patients with B cell depletion.RESULTSIn contrast with control individuals (n = 10), most patients on anti-CD20 therapy (n = 48) did not demonstrate an increase in spike-specific B cells or antibodies after a third dose of vaccine. A third vaccine elicited significantly increased frequencies of spike-specific non-naive T cells. A small subset of B cell-depleted individuals effectively produced spike-specific antibodies, and logistic regression models identified time since last anti-CD20 treatment and lower cumulative exposure to anti-CD20 mAbs as predictors of those having a serologic response. B cell-depleted patients who mounted an antibody response to 3 vaccine doses had persistent humoral immunity 6 months later.CONCLUSIONThese results demonstrate that serial vaccination strategies can be effective for a subset of B cell-depleted patients.FUNDINGThe NIH (R25 NS079193, P01 AI073748, U24 AI11867, R01 AI22220, UM 1HG009390, P01 AI039671, P50 CA121974, R01 CA227473, U01CA260507, 75N93019C00065, K24 AG042489), NIH HIPC Consortium (U19 AI089992), the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (CA 1061-A-18, RG-1802-30153), the Nancy Taylor Foundation for Chronic Diseases, Erase MS, and the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center at Yale (P30 AG21342).

Microfluidic Immuno-Serolomic Assay Reveals Systems Level Association with COVID-19 Pathology and Vaccine Protection.

How to develop highly informative serology assays to evaluate the quality of immune protection against coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been a global pursuit over the past years. Here, a microfluidic high-plex immuno-serolomic assay is developed to simultaneously measure50 plasma or serum samples for50 soluble markers including 35proteins, 11 anti-spike/receptor binding domian (RBD) IgG antibodies spanningmajor variants, and controls. This assay demonstrates the quintuplicate test in a single run with high throughput, low sample volume, high reproducibilityand accuracy. It is applied to the measurement of 1012 blood samples including in-depth analysis of sera from 127 patients and 21 healthy donors over multiple time points, either with acute COVID infection or vaccination. The protein analysis reveals distinct immune mediator modules that exhibit a reduced degree of diversity in protein-protein cooperation in patients with hematologic malignancies or receiving B cell depletion therapy. Serological analysis identifies that COVID-infected patients with hematologic malignancies display impaired anti-RBD antibody response despite high level of anti-spike IgG, which can be associated with limited clonotype diversity and functional deficiency in B cells. These findings underscore the importance to individualize immunization strategies for these high-risk patients and provide an informative tool to monitor their responses at the systems level.

Cutting edge: Hierarchy of maturity of murine memory B cell subsets.

The paucity of murine memory B cell markers has been a significant impediment to the study of memory. The most commonly used marker is IgG, which is neither sensitive nor specific, because activated nonmemory cells can be IgG(+), and memory cells can be IgM(+). In this article, we show that, together, PD-L2 (CD273), CD80, and CD73 define at least five phenotypic subsets of murine memory B cells. These subsets are generated from naive cells bearing a single BCR in response to a single T-dependent Ag. This diversity is independent of class switch, because IgG(1)- and IgM-bearing memory cells are found within each compartment. Memory subsets defined by PD-L2, CD80, and CD73 are biologically distinct from one another, because they differ in ontogeny and selection. Together, these distinctions suggest that there is a spectrum of memory B cells and progressive acquisition from more naive-like to more memory-like properties.

Microfluidic immuno-serology assay revealed a limited diversity of protection against COVID-19 in patients with altered immunity.

The immune response to SARS-CoV-2 for patients with altered immunity such as hematologic malignancies and autoimmune disease may differ substantially from that in general population. These patients remain at high risk despite wide-spread adoption of vaccination. It is critical to examine the differences at the systems level between the general population and the patients with altered immunity in terms of immunologic and serological responses to COVID-19 infection and vaccination. Here, we developed a novel microfluidic chip for high-plex immuno-serological assay to simultaneously measure up to 50 plasma or serum samples for up to 50 soluble markers including 35 plasma proteins, 11 anti-spike/RBD IgG antibodies spanning all major variants, and controls. Our assay demonstrated the quintuplicate test in a single run with high throughput, low sample volume input, high reproducibility and high accuracy. It was applied to the measurement of 1,012 blood samples including in-depth analysis of sera from 127 patients and 21 healthy donors over multiple time points, either with acute COVID infection or vaccination. The protein association matrix analysis revealed distinct immune mediator protein modules that exhibited a reduced degree of diversity in protein-protein cooperation in patients with hematologic malignancies and patients with autoimmune disorders receiving B cell depletion therapy. Serological analysis identified that COVID infected patients with hematologic malignancies display impaired anti-RBD antibody response despite high level of anti-spike IgG, which could be associated with limited clonotype diversity and functional deficiency in B cells and was further confirmed by single-cell BCR and transcriptome sequencing. These findings underscore the importance to individualize immunization strategy for these high-risk patients and provide an informative tool to monitor their responses at the systems level.