B Cells in Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Stefanie Sarantopoulos, Bruce R. Blazar, Corey Cutler, Jerome Ritz Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation Volume 21, Issue 1, Pages 16-23 (January 2015) DOI: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.10.029 Copyright © 2015 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Terms and Conditions
Figure 1 BAFF and antigen-driven B cell activation. In cGVHD, B cells are promoted by antigen and excessive BAFF levels to survive and produce antibodies. Constitutive antibody production by certain B cell subsets in cGVHD may directly mediate pathology. B cells may also serve as antigen presenting cells (APC). Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2015 21, 16-23DOI: (10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.10.029) Copyright © 2015 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Terms and Conditions
Figure 2 Development and persistence of potentially pathological cGVHD B cells. Altered B cell homeostasis with high BAFF to naïve B cell ratios after HCT leads to persistence of aberrantly activated B cells. Decreased bone marrow output and production of immature (and potentially of B10) B cells leads to excessive levels of BAFF, sufficient to support potentially pathological B cell subsets. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2015 21, 16-23DOI: (10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.10.029) Copyright © 2015 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Terms and Conditions