Liwei Lu
Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Title: Roles of regulatory B cells in autoimmunity
Biography
Biography: Liwei Lu
Abstract
Extensive studies have demonstrated the prominent functions of B cells in antibody production and antigen presentation. However, certain B cell subsets have been recognized as immune regulators through cytokine production. Accumulating data indicate that IL-10-producing B cells possess a regulatory function in the development of autoimmune diseases, but microenvironmental factors and/or cytokines involved in inducing regulatory B cell differentiation remain to be identified. B cell-activating factor (BAFF), a member of TNF family cytokines, is a key regulator for B cell maturation and function. Our recent studies have identified a novel function of BAFF in the induction of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells. BAFF-induced IL-10-producing B cells showed a distinct CD1dhiCD5+ phenotype mainly derived from marginal-zone B cells, which possessed a potent function in inhibiting T cell activation and cytokine production. In mice with collagen-immunized arthritis and experimental Sjogren’s syndrome, adoptive transfer of BAFF-induced IL-10-producing B cells markedly attenuated the disease severity and tissue damage of autoimmune diseases via suppression of Th17 cell response. Taken together, our findings have provided new insight in understanding the roles of BAFF and regulatory B cells in autoimmune pathogenesis, which may facilitate the development of therapeutic strategies for targeting autoimmune disorders.