The Functional Response of B Cells to Antigenic Stimulation: A Preliminary Report of Latent Tuberculosis

PLoS One. 2016 Apr 6;11(4):e0152710. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152710. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) remains a successful pathogen, causing tuberculosis disease numbers to constantly increase. Although great progress has been made in delineating the disease, the host-pathogen interaction is incompletely described. B cells have shown to function as both effectors and regulators of immunity via non-humoral methods in both innate and adaptive immune settings. Here we assessed specific B cell functional interaction following stimulation with a broad range of antigens within the LTBI milieu. Our results indicate that B cells readily produce pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (including IL-1β, IL-10, IL-17, IL-21 and TNF-α) in response to stimulation. TLR4 and TLR9 based stimulations achieved the greatest secreted cytokine-production response and BCG stimulation displayed a clear preference for inducing IL-1β production. We also show that the cytokines produced by B cells are implicated strongly in cell-mediated communication and that plasma (memory) B cells (CD19+CD27+CD138+) is the subset with the greatest contribution to cytokine production. Collectively our data provides insight into B cell responses, where they are implicated in and quantifies responses from specific B cell phenotypes. These findings warrant further functional B cell research with a focus on specific B cell phenotypes under conditions of active TB disease to further our knowledge about the contribution of various cell subsets which could have implications for future vaccine development or refined B cell orientated treatment in the health setting.

MeSH terms

  • Antigens, Bacterial / immunology*
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cytokines / biosynthesis
  • Humans
  • Immunologic Memory
  • Inflammation Mediators / metabolism
  • Latent Tuberculosis / immunology*
  • Lipopolysaccharides / pharmacology
  • Toll-Like Receptor 9 / physiology

Substances

  • Antigens, Bacterial
  • Cytokines
  • Inflammation Mediators
  • Lipopolysaccharides
  • TLR9 protein, human
  • Toll-Like Receptor 9

Grants and funding

WJ du Plessis holds an NRF scholarship. GW holds the DST/NRF SA Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) for TB Biomarkers. The authors received no specific funding for this work.