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Background And Aim: The goal of this study was to investigate the immunological characteristics and potential clinical significance of B-cell subsets during different phases of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
Methods: We conducted single-cell RNA sequencing on 23,967 B cells (including 1,677 plasma cells) derived from 46 liver and blood samples from 25 individuals. The study included six HBV-free healthy control (HC) cases, as well as subjects from four different HBV phases: six immune-tolerant (IT), six immune activation (IA), four acute recovery (AR), and three chronic resolved (CR) individuals. In addition, a separate cohort consisting of 10 IT, 13 IA, and 15 HC individuals was recruited for experimental validation.
Results: The liver tissue of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) exhibited enriched atypical B-cell (ABC) and FCRL1 B-cell subsets compared to their peripheral blood. Specifically, the ABC subset was enriched in the liver tissue of the IT patients and specifically overexpressed immune-tolerance-related genes, such as TNFRSF1B, ADGRE5, ZBTB32, and GRN. Conversely, the FCRL1 B-cell subset was enriched in the liver tissue of the IA patients and characterized by a high expression of immune-activation-related genes, including TNFRSF13C, LY9, FCRL1, CD55, and NFKB1. Similarly, the distribution patterns of ABC and FCRL1⁺ B cells in IT and IA patients were also confirmed in peripheral blood through parallel analyses and flow cytometry validation. Additionally, the CHB patients demonstrated abnormal plasma cell (PC) differentiation compared with the CR patients. For instance, the IT patients exhibited a low expression of SEC61A1 in their plasma cells (PCs), while the IA patients demonstrated a reduced expression of TNFRSF17; both molecules are critical to the maturation and functional activity of antibody-secreting cells.
Conclusion: Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the composition and functional characteristics of B-cell subsets in HBV-infected individuals at various clinical phases. It also identifies the potential mechanism responsible for humoral immunity in cases of HBV infection.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12072-025-10846-y | DOI Listing |
Front Immunol
September 2025
Genomic Oncology Area, GENYO, Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research: Pfizer/University of Granada/Andalusian Regional Government, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud (PTS), Granada, Spain.
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic had significant global public health consequences, affecting over 200 countries and regions by 2020. The development and efficacy of specific vaccines, such as the mRNA-1273 (Spikevax) vaccine developed by Moderna Inc., have substantially reduced the impact of the pandemic and mitigated its consequences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Neurol
August 2025
Department of Neurology, Zhengzhou University People's Hospital, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China.
Background: Myasthenia gravis (MG), an autoimmune disorder characterized by B cell-driven autoantibody production, exhibits heterogeneous B cell subsets dysregulation and incompletely defined signaling mechanisms.
Methods: A cohort of 20 naïve MG patients positive for anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies and 15 healthy controls was analyzed. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells underwent proteomic profiling, flow cytometry (age-associated B cells (ABCs), plasma cells, T follicular helper cells, and regulatory B cells), and western blot validation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)/cellular reticuloendotheliosis oncogene homolog (c-Rel) expression.
Parasite Immunol
September 2025
Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.
Leishmania parasite adeptly evades the host's immune defences by infiltrating macrophages, exploiting apoptotic processes for further dissemination. Among the host's strategies to counter parasitic propagation, the pivotal role of B-cells, specifically B regulatory (Breg) cells, emerges. Recent evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies has thrust Breg cells into the spotlight, attributed to their IL-10 secretion and antigen presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Autoimmun
September 2025
Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia; Cellular Genomics Futures Institute & School of Biomedical Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Electronic address:
Background: In autoimmune disease it is not understood how self-reactive B cells escape immune tolerance checkpoints to produce pathogenic autoantibodies.
Objective: In patients with demyelinating polyneuropathy caused by IgM autoantibodies against myelin associated glycoprotein (MAG) and the sulphated trisaccharide CD57, we aimed to test the hypothesis that B cells making the autoantibody escaped tolerance by acquiring lymphoma driver somatic mutations.
Methods: Deep single-cell RNA, DNA, flow cytometric and antibody specificity analysis of blood from three patients with MAG neuropathy.
Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets
August 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China.
Introduction: Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL), the most common pediatric hematologic malignancy, arises primarily from B-cell origin and is strongly associated with immune dysfunction. This article integrated single-cell and bulk transcriptomic data to identify key B-cell subsets and cALL-related molecules as biomarkers.
Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) Data from 2 pre-B high hyperdiploid (HHD) ALL patients and 3 healthy pediatric bone marrow samples (GSE132509) were utilized for cell clustering using the Seurat package.