Abstract
Fas is a transmembrane receptor involved in the maintenance of tolerance and immune homeostasis. In murine models, it has been shown to be essential for deletion of autoreactive B cells in the germinal center. The role of Fas in human B-cell selection and in development of autoimmunity in patients carrying FAS mutations is unclear. We analyzed patients with either a somatic FAS mutation or a germline FAS mutation and somatic loss-of-heterozygosity, which allows comparing the fate of B cells with impaired vs normal Fas signaling within the same individual. Class-switched memory B cells showed: accumulation of FAS-mutated B cells; failure to enrich single V, D, J genes and single V-D, D-J gene combinations of the B-cell receptor variable region; increased frequency of variable regions with higher content of positively charged amino acids; and longer CDR3 and maintenance of polyreactive specificities. Importantly, Fas-deficient switched memory B cells showed increased rates of somatic hypermutation. Our data uncover a defect in B-cell selection in patients with FAS mutations, which has implications for the understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmunity and lymphomagenesis of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome.
Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
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Pages (from-to) | 2193-2202 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Blood |
Volume | 127 |
Issue number | 18 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Research programs
- EMC MM-02-72-01