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In multiple sclerosis, oligoclonal bands connect to peripheral B-cell responses
Jaishree Bankoti1, Leonard Apeltsin, Stephen L Hauser
1Departments of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.
Annals of Neurology
|December 31, 2013
Summary
Oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients show clonal relationships and are linked to B-cell responses within and across the blood-brain barrier. This indicates active B-cell immunity in MS, not just a final immune response.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimmunology
- Immunogenetics
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS).
- Oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are a hallmark of MS, but their clonal origins and relationship to B-cell responses remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clonal interrelationships of OCB specificities.
- To determine the association between OCBs and B-cell responses in the peripheral blood (PB) of MS patients.
Main Methods:
- Proteomic analysis of isoelectric focused (IEF) CSF immunoglobulin G (IgG).
- Next-generation deep-immune repertoire sequencing of PB and CSF IgG heavy chain variable regions.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests ongoing B-cell stimulation and maturation within the CNS.
- B cells involved in OCB production are found in PB, capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and undergoing peripheral stimulation.
- OCBs within individual MS patients are clonally related.
Conclusions:
- High-resolution molecular analysis reveals OCBs are part of active, dynamic B-cell immunity in MS.
- OCBs are not solely the end-product of a targeted immune response but reflect ongoing immune activity.
- B-cell immunity in MS is supported dynamically on both sides of the blood-brain barrier.
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