Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
9.9
5.1
Journals
Cells
Special Issues
Immune Functions and Therapeutic Potential of B Lymphocytes in Autoimmune...
share announcement

Immune Functions and Therapeutic Potential of B Lymphocytes in Autoimmune Disorders

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2025 | Viewed by 2842

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Moncef M. Zouali

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University Taichung, Taichung, Taiwan
2. Institute National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Paris, France
Interests: immune tolerance; autoimmunity; epigenetics; B lymphocytes; innate immunity; biotherapeutics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Autoimmune disorders (AID) comprise over eighty diseases and affect millions of individuals worldwide. They can target virtually any tissue in an organism and lead to a multitude of symptoms and, in severe cases, to mortality. Their causes remain under investigation, and several mechanisms have been proposed. Disease management efforts face various challenges due to the incomplete understanding of their etiologies, the complexity of genetic susceptibility, the contribution of a number of environmental factors, the variable latency between exposure to the trigger(s) and clinical manifestations, and the array of disease phenotypes. Nevertheless, treatment options for AID have made significant progress, evolving from immunosuppressive mediations to the more selective targeting of a single receptor or a specific pathway, with fewer off-target effects.

AID are characterized by loss of immune tolerance to self-antigens. While several immune cell types are aberrantly activated in AID, the B cell lineage is essential for both initiating and propagating the disease process. As a result, the broad immunotherapeutic targeting of B cells has entered the clinical arena, including specific B cell depletion. However, current approaches eradicate not only self-reactive B cells but also B cell subsets that play a protective role in immune defense. Therefore, a better understanding of B cell deregulations in AID could lead to more optimized targeted therapeutics.

This Special Issue will consist of insightful articles that assist in gaining a greater understanding of the multiple roles of B lymphocytes in the initiation and progression of autoimmune reactions, as well as the novel therapeutic approaches designed to prevent and/or to treat AID. Both original research articles and review papers will be considered.

Dr. Moncef M. Zouali
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • engineered immune cells
  • autoimmune disease
  • B lymphocyte
  • animal models
  • immune tolerance

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 4686 KiB  
Article
Subset of DN Memory B Cells Expressing Low Levels of Inhibitory Receptor BTLA Is Enriched in SLE Patients
by Lucie Aubergeon, Renaud Felten, Jacques-Eric Gottenberg, Hélène Dumortier and Fanny Monneaux
Cells 2024, 13(24), 2063; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13242063 - 13 Dec 2024
Viewed by 778
Abstract
The dialogue between T and B cells can be regulated by different mechanisms, such as co-inhibitory receptors, which therefore play a crucial role in preventing autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) is a co-inhibitory receptor [...] Read more.
The dialogue between T and B cells can be regulated by different mechanisms, such as co-inhibitory receptors, which therefore play a crucial role in preventing autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) is a co-inhibitory receptor expressed on many myeloid and lymphoid cells. Although peripheral B cells express a very high amount of BTLA, previous works in the context of autoimmunity mainly focused on T cells, and whether BTLA expression on B cells plays a role in the lupus pathogenesis is still unclear. In the present study, we examine the expression of BTLA, as well as its ligand HVEM (Herpesvirus Entry Mediator), on various B cell subsets in lupus patients compared to healthy controls (HCs). We evidenced the existence of double-negative (DN; IgD−CD27−) memory B cells expressing very low levels of BTLA, which are enhanced in active lupus patients. An in-depth analysis revealed that these BTLAlow DN cells mainly correspond to the newly reported DN3 B cell subset, originally described in the context of SARS-CoV2 infection. These cells display an activated and antibody-secreting cell phenotype, and we propose that their low BTLA expression may favor their expansion and rapid differentiation into plasmablasts in lupus patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immune Functions and Therapeutic Potential of B Lymphocytes in Autoimmune Disorders)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 7822 KiB  
Article
Regulatory B Cells Expressing Granzyme B from Tolerant Renal Transplant Patients: Highly Differentiated B Cells with a Unique Pathway with a Specific Regulatory Profile and Strong Interactions with Immune System Cells
by Nicolas Sailliet, Amandine Dupuy, François Brinas, Karine Renaudin, Luc Colas, Clarisse Kerleau, Thi-Van-Ha Nguyen, Cynthia Fourgeux, Jérémie Poschmann, Clément Gosset, Magali Giral, Nicolas Degauque, Hoa Le Mai, Richard Danger and Sophie Brouard
Cells 2024, 13(15), 1287; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13151287 - 31 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1598
Abstract
The aim of our study was to determine whether granzyme B-expressing regulatory B cells (GZMB+ B cells) are enriched in the blood of transplant patients with renal graft tolerance. To achieve this goal, we analysed two single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) datasets: (1) [...] Read more.
The aim of our study was to determine whether granzyme B-expressing regulatory B cells (GZMB+ B cells) are enriched in the blood of transplant patients with renal graft tolerance. To achieve this goal, we analysed two single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) datasets: (1) peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), including GZMB+ B cells from renal transplant patients, i.e., patients with stable graft function on conventional immunosuppressive treatment (STA, n = 3), drug-free tolerant patients (TOL, n = 3), and patients with antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR, n = 3), and (2) ex-vivo-induced GZMB+ B cells from these groups. In the patient PBMCs, we first showed that natural GZMB+ B cells were enriched in genes specific to Natural Killer (NK) cells (such as NKG7 and KLRD1) and regulatory B cells (such as GZMB, IL10, and CCL4). We performed a pseudotemporal trajectory analysis of natural GZMB+ B cells and showed that they were highly differentiated B cells with a trajectory that is very different from that of conventional memory B cells and linked to the transcription factor KLF13. By specifically analysing GZMB+ natural B cells in TOLs, we found that these cells had a very specific transcriptomic profile associated with a reduction in the expression of HLA molecules, apoptosis, and the inflammatory response (in general) in the blood and that this signature was conserved after ex vivo induction, with the induction of genes associated with migration processes, such as CCR7, CCL3, or CCL4. An analysis of receptor/ligand interactions between these GZMB+/− natural B cells and all of the immune cells present in PBMCs also demonstrated that GZMB+ B cells were the B cells that carried the most ligands and had the most interactions with other immune cells, particularly in tolerant patients. Finally, we showed that these GZMB+ B cells were able to infiltrate the graft under inflammatory conditions, thus suggesting that they can act in locations where immune events occur. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immune Functions and Therapeutic Potential of B Lymphocytes in Autoimmune Disorders)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop