Rubén Osuna-Gómez , Ivan Castellví , Maria Mulet , Jose Luis Tandaipan , Carlos Zamora , Helena Codes-Mendez , Mª Àngels Ortiz , Cesar Diaz-Torné , Elisabet Cantó , Berta Magallares , Albert Guinart-Cuadra , Patricia Moya , Hector Corominas , Silvia Vidal
{"title":"Platelet bound B cells and their role in SSc: Implications for disease subtypes and clinical outcomes","authors":"Rubén Osuna-Gómez , Ivan Castellví , Maria Mulet , Jose Luis Tandaipan , Carlos Zamora , Helena Codes-Mendez , Mª Àngels Ortiz , Cesar Diaz-Torné , Elisabet Cantó , Berta Magallares , Albert Guinart-Cuadra , Patricia Moya , Hector Corominas , Silvia Vidal","doi":"10.1016/j.trsl.2025.07.001","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by microvascular damage, immune dysregulation, and tissue fibrosis. While lymphocyte-platelet (PLT) complexes have been implicated in autoimmune diseases, their role in SSc is not well understood. Methods: In a study of 21 predominantly female SSc patients, 66.7 % had limited SSc (lcSSc), with anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) being the most common autoantibody pattern. We applied flow cytometry to analyze B cells with bound PLTs, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine plasma levels of activated PLT soluble factors, and co-culture assays to evaluate B cell cytokine secretion and plasma cell differentiation. Results: SSc patients had a higher percentage of B cells, but not T cells, with bound PLTs compared to healthy donors (HD). Despite similar PLT counts, SSc patients showed higher plasmatic levels of P-selectin (CD62P), soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β). Plasma IL-10 levels were also higher in SSc patients, with increased intracellular IL-10 in B cells with bound PLTs. We observed an increased IL-10 production and plasma cell differentiation when B cells were co-cultured with PLTs, especially from SSc patients. B cells with bound PLTs were associated with calcinosis, digital ulcers, and ACA status, with no effect from previous corticosteroid or aspirin therapy. Logistic regression identified B cells with bound PLTs as a predictor for distinguishing lcSSc patients. Conclusions: B cells with bound PLTs play a significant role in SSc by modulating B cell function and contributing to disease pathogenesis. Their association with clinical parameters suggests their potential as biomarkers for disease severity and subtype classification in SSc.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23226,"journal":{"name":"Translational Research","volume":"282 ","pages":"Pages 31-40"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Translational Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1931524425000751","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by microvascular damage, immune dysregulation, and tissue fibrosis. While lymphocyte-platelet (PLT) complexes have been implicated in autoimmune diseases, their role in SSc is not well understood. Methods: In a study of 21 predominantly female SSc patients, 66.7 % had limited SSc (lcSSc), with anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) being the most common autoantibody pattern. We applied flow cytometry to analyze B cells with bound PLTs, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine plasma levels of activated PLT soluble factors, and co-culture assays to evaluate B cell cytokine secretion and plasma cell differentiation. Results: SSc patients had a higher percentage of B cells, but not T cells, with bound PLTs compared to healthy donors (HD). Despite similar PLT counts, SSc patients showed higher plasmatic levels of P-selectin (CD62P), soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β). Plasma IL-10 levels were also higher in SSc patients, with increased intracellular IL-10 in B cells with bound PLTs. We observed an increased IL-10 production and plasma cell differentiation when B cells were co-cultured with PLTs, especially from SSc patients. B cells with bound PLTs were associated with calcinosis, digital ulcers, and ACA status, with no effect from previous corticosteroid or aspirin therapy. Logistic regression identified B cells with bound PLTs as a predictor for distinguishing lcSSc patients. Conclusions: B cells with bound PLTs play a significant role in SSc by modulating B cell function and contributing to disease pathogenesis. Their association with clinical parameters suggests their potential as biomarkers for disease severity and subtype classification in SSc.
期刊介绍:
Translational Research (formerly The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine) delivers original investigations in the broad fields of laboratory, clinical, and public health research. Published monthly since 1915, it keeps readers up-to-date on significant biomedical research from all subspecialties of medicine.