Light chain skewing in autoantibodies and B-cell receptors of the citrullinated antigen-binding B-cell response in rheumatoid arthritis

PLoS One. 2021 Mar 30;16(3):e0247847. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247847. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting 1% of the world population. RA is associated with the presence of autoantibodies, of which anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) are most prominent. ACPA are produced by citrullinated antigen-binding B cells that have presumably survived tolerance checkpoints. So far, it is unclear how and when such autoreactive B cells emerge. Light chain (LC) rearrangement and mutation rates can be informative with regard to selection steps during B-cell development. Therefore, we studied LC characteristics of ACPA-expressing B cells and secreted ACPA with the aim to better understand the development of this disease-specific, autoreactive B-cell response. Paired ACPA-IgG and ACPA-depleted IgG were isolated from serum (n = 87) and synovial fluid (SF, n = 21) of patients with established RA. We determined the LC composition for each fraction by ELISA using kappa(Igκ)- and lambda(Igλ) LC-specific antibodies. Cellular LC expression was determined using flow cytometry. In addition, we used a B-cell receptor (BCR)-specific PCR to obtain LC variable region sequences of citrullinated antigen- and tetanus toxoid (TT)-binding B cells. In serum, we observed an increased frequency of lambda LC in ACPA-IgG (1.64:1) compared to control IgG (2.03:1) and to the κ/λ ratio reported for healthy individuals (2:1). A similar trend towards higher frequencies of lambda LCs was observed for ACPA-IgG in SF (1.84:1). Additionally, the percentage of Igλ-expressing B cells was higher for citrullinated antigen-binding B cells (51%) compared to TT-specific (43%) and total CD19+CD20+ B cells (36%). Moreover, an increased Igλ percentage was observed in BCR-sequences derived from ACPA-expressing (49%) compared to TT-specific B cells (34%). Taken together, we report an enhanced frequency of lambda LCs in the secreted ACPA-IgG repertoire and, on the cellular level, in BCR sequences of ACPA-expressing B cells compared to control. This skewing in the autoreactive B-cell repertoire could reflect a process of active selection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies / blood
  • Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies / immunology*
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / blood
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / immunology*
  • Autoantibodies / blood
  • Autoantibodies / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / immunology*

Substances

  • Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibodies
  • Autoantibodies
  • Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from the Dutch Arthritis Foundation (project no. 12-2-403, REM Toes; no. 15-2-402, HU Scherer and no. 18-1-205, HU Scherer), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO; project no. 91214031, REM Toes), a ZonMW clinical fellowship (project no. 90714509, HU Scherer), ZonMW VENI grant (no. 91617107, HU Scherer), ZonMW OffRoad grant (no. 451001012, HU Scherer), the IMI-funded consortium projects BeTheCure (contract no. 115142-2, REM Toes) and RTCure (contract no. 777357, REM Toes) and has been funded as part of the Target‐to‐B! consortium by ‘Samenwerkende Gezondheidsfondsen’ (SGF) consisting of 20 health funds including KWF Kankerbestrijding, ReumaNederland, Topsector Life Sciences & Health (Health∼Holland) and the Business Life (LSHM18055‐SGF). R.E.M.T. is the recipient of an European Research Council (ERC) Advanced grant (AdG2019‐884796). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.