B cell anergy represents an important mechanism of peripheral immunological tolerance for mature autoreactive B cells that escape central tolerance enforced by receptor editing and clonal deletion. While well documented in mice, the extent of its participation in human B cell tolerance remains to be fully established. In this study, we characterize the functional behavior of strictly defined human naïve B cells separated on the basis of their surface IgM (sIgM) expression levels. We demonstrate that cells with lower sIgM levels (IgMlo) are impaired in their ability to flux calcium in response to either anti-IgM or anti-IgD cross-linking, and contain a significantly increased frequency of autoreactive cells compared to naïve B cells with higher levels of sIgM. Phenotypically, in healthy subjects, IgMlo cells are characterized by the absence of activation markers, reduction of co-stimulatory molecules (CD19 and CD21) and increased levels of inhibitory CD22. Functionally, IgMlo cells display significantly weaker proliferation, impaired differentiation, and poor antibody production. In aggregate, the data indicates that hypo-responsiveness to BCR cross-linking associated with sIgM down-regulation is present in a much larger fraction of all human naïve B cells than previously reported, and is likely to reflect a state of anergy induced by chronic autoantigen stimulation. Finally, our results indicate that in SLE patients, naïve IgMlo cells display increased levels of CD95 and decreased levels of CD22, a phenotype consistent with enhanced activation of autoreactive naïve B cells in this autoimmune disease.

Type I interferons (IFN-I) limit viral spread by inducing antiviral genes in infected target cells and by shaping the adaptive response through induction of additional cytokines. Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) efficiently triggers the production of IFN-I in mice, and it is suggested that IFN-a is induced after binding of VSV to TLR7 in infected cells. Our study with virus-specific B cell receptor-transgenic mice demonstrates here that IFN-I directly fuel early humoral immune responses in vivo. VSV-specific B cells that lacked IFN-a/b receptors were considerably impaired in plasma cell formation and in generating antiviral IgM. At low viral titers, production of IFN-a following VSV infection was independent of TLR7-mediated signals. Interestingly, however, TLR7 ligation in B cells increased the formation of early antiviral IgM. These findings indicate that IFN-amediated augmentation of specific B cell responses is a partially TLR7-and virus dosedependent mechanism.

C-src tyrosine kinase, Csk, physically interacts with the intracellular phosphatase Lyp (PTPN22) and can modify the activation state of downstream Src kinases, such as Lyn, in lymphocytes. We identified an association of Csk with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and refined its location to an intronic polymorphism rs34933034 (OR 1.32, p = 1.04 × 10−9). The risk allele is associated with increased CSK expression and augments inhibitory phosphorylation of Lyn. In carriers of the risk allele, B cell receptor (BCR)-mediated activation of mature B cells, as well as plasma IgM, are increased. Moreover, the fraction of transitional B cells is doubled in the cord blood of carriers of the risk allele compared to non-risk haplotypes due to an expansion of the late transitional cells, a stage targeted by selection mechanisms. This suggests that the Lyp-Csk complex increases susceptibility to lupus at multiple maturation and activation points of B cells.

Objective Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are diagnostic in several autoimmune disorders, yet the failure to achieve B cell tolerance in these diseases is still poorly understood. Although secr eted ANAs detected by an indirect immunofluorescence assay are the gold standard for autoreactivity, there has been no convenient assay with which to measure the frequency of circulating B cells that recognize nuclear antigens (ANA + B cells) in patients. The aim of this study was to generate an assay to easily identify these B cells and to examine its utility in a study of autoreactive B cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods We developed and validated a novel flow cytometry–based assay that identifies ANA + B cells using biotinylated nuclear extracts, and utilized it to examine B cell tolerance checkpoints in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from SLE patients and healthy controls. Result We observed progressive selection against ANA + B cells as they matured from transitional to naive to CD27 + IgD− and CD27 + IgD + memory cells in both healthy subjects and SLE patients; however, ANA + naive B cells in SLE patients were not anergized to the same extent as in healthy individuals. We also showed that anergy induction is restored in SLE patients treated with belimumab, an inhibitor of BAFF. Conclusion This assay will enable studies of large populations to identify potential genetic or environmental factors affecting B cell tolerance checkpoints in healthy subjects and patients with autoimmune disease and permit monitoring of the B cell response to therapeutic interventions.