TY - JOUR
T1 - Blockade of BAFF reshapes the hepatic b cell receptor repertoire and attenuates autoantibody production in cholestatic liver disease
AU - Thapa, Manoj
AU - Tedesco, Dana
AU - Gumber, Sanjeev
AU - Elrod, Elizabeth J.
AU - Han, Jin Hwan
AU - Kitchens, William H.
AU - Magliocca, Joseph F.
AU - Adams, Andrew B.
AU - Prof, Arash Grakoui
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
PY - 2020/6/15
Y1 - 2020/6/15
N2 - Defects in biliary transport proteins, MDR3 in humans and Mdr2 in mice, can lead to a spectrum of cholestatic liver disorders. Although B cell disorders and the aberrant Ab production are the leading extrahepatic manifestations of cholestatic liver diseases, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is incompletely understood. Using mice with deficiency of Mdr2 that progressively develop cholestatic liver disease, we investigated the contributions of BAFF to aberrant IgG autoantibody production and hepatic fibrosis. In Mdr22/2 mice, hepatic B lymphocytes constitutively produced IgG during fibrosis progression, which correlated with elevated serum levels of BAFF, antinuclear Abs (ANA) and immune complexes. The elevated BAFF and ANA titers were also detected in human patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and hepatobiliary cholangiopathies. Consistent with the higher BAFF levels, liver-specific selection of the focused BCR IgH repertoire was found on hepatic B cells in Mdr22/2 mice. Interestingly, the administration of anti-BAFF mAb in Mdr22/2 mice altered the BCR repertoire on hepatic B lymphocytes and resulted in reduced ANA and immune complex titers. However, anti-BAFF treatment did not attenuate hepatic fibrosis as measured by collagen deposition, hepatic expressions of collagen-1a, a-smooth muscle actin, and mononuclear cell infiltration (CD11b+ Ly-6chi monocytes and CD11b+ Gr1+ neutrophils). Importantly, depletion of B cells by anti-CD20 mAb reduced both hepatic fibrosis and serum levels of ANA and immune complexes. Our findings implicate B cells as the potential therapeutic targets for hepatic fibrosis and targeting BAFF specifically for attenuating the autoantibody production associated with cholestatic liver disease.
AB - Defects in biliary transport proteins, MDR3 in humans and Mdr2 in mice, can lead to a spectrum of cholestatic liver disorders. Although B cell disorders and the aberrant Ab production are the leading extrahepatic manifestations of cholestatic liver diseases, the mechanism underlying this phenomenon is incompletely understood. Using mice with deficiency of Mdr2 that progressively develop cholestatic liver disease, we investigated the contributions of BAFF to aberrant IgG autoantibody production and hepatic fibrosis. In Mdr22/2 mice, hepatic B lymphocytes constitutively produced IgG during fibrosis progression, which correlated with elevated serum levels of BAFF, antinuclear Abs (ANA) and immune complexes. The elevated BAFF and ANA titers were also detected in human patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and hepatobiliary cholangiopathies. Consistent with the higher BAFF levels, liver-specific selection of the focused BCR IgH repertoire was found on hepatic B cells in Mdr22/2 mice. Interestingly, the administration of anti-BAFF mAb in Mdr22/2 mice altered the BCR repertoire on hepatic B lymphocytes and resulted in reduced ANA and immune complex titers. However, anti-BAFF treatment did not attenuate hepatic fibrosis as measured by collagen deposition, hepatic expressions of collagen-1a, a-smooth muscle actin, and mononuclear cell infiltration (CD11b+ Ly-6chi monocytes and CD11b+ Gr1+ neutrophils). Importantly, depletion of B cells by anti-CD20 mAb reduced both hepatic fibrosis and serum levels of ANA and immune complexes. Our findings implicate B cells as the potential therapeutic targets for hepatic fibrosis and targeting BAFF specifically for attenuating the autoantibody production associated with cholestatic liver disease.
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U2 - 10.4049/jimmunol.1900391
DO - 10.4049/jimmunol.1900391
M3 - Article
C2 - 32332110
AN - SCOPUS:85086286531
SN - 0022-1767
VL - 204
SP - 3117
EP - 3128
JO - Journal of Immunology
JF - Journal of Immunology
IS - 12
ER -