Decreased Expression of B cell Maturation Antigen in Patients with Common Variable Immunodeficiency

Abstract

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia, leading to recurrent infections. Defect in maturation of B cells into functional plasma cells is the most principal defect in CVID. B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is an essential molecule for survival of long-lived plasma cells. The aim of this study is to evaluate BCMA expression on B cells as well as count peripheral blood plasmablast cells in CVID patients compared with healthy individuals. Blood samples were collected from 15 CVID patients and 15 age- and sex-matched normal controls. Genomic RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples using an RNX-Plus Kit. cDNA was synthesized from extracted RNA using a RevertAid First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit. Synthesized cDNA was used as a template for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to measure BCMA gene expression by Maxima SYBR Green/ROX qPCR Master Mix Kit (Thermo Scientific). Flow cytometry was use...