Enhanced mitochondrial function in B cells from elderly type-2 diabetes mellitus patients supports intrinsic inflammation

In this paper, we measured B cell function in elderly healthy individuals (E_H) and in elderly patients with Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM, E_T2DM), which are treatment-naive, as compared to healthy young (Y_H) individuals. Results show a higher serum inflammatory status of elderly versus young individuals, and especially of E_T2DM versus E_H. This status is associated with a reduced response to the seasonal influenza vaccine and with increased frequencies of the circulating pro-inflammatory B cell subset called Double Negative (DN) B cells. B cells from E_T2DM patients are not only more inflammatory but also hyper-metabolic as compared to those from E_H controls. The results herein are to our knowledge the first to show that T2DM superimposed on aging further increases systemic and B cell intrinsic inflammation, as well as dysfunctional humoral immunity. Our findings confirm and extend our previously published findings showing that inflammatory B cells are metabolically supported.