Event Abstract Back to Event Functional properties of resident B cells in arterial walls of human atherosclerotic patients Moustafa Hamze1*, Caroline Desmetz1, Marie-Laurence Berthe2, Pascal Roger3, Nathalie Boulle2, Pascal Branchereau4, Eric Picard4, Caroline Guzman1, Claire Tolza1 and Paul Guglielmi1 1 University Montpellier 1, Faculty of pharmacy, France 2 Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire et Hormonale, CHU Arnaud de Villeneuve Montpellier France, France 3 Service d'Anatomie et Cytologie Pathologiques CHU Carémeau Nîmes France, France 4 Service de chirurgie vasculaire CHU Carémeau Nîmes France, France Ig repertoires were analyzed by RT-PCR on tissue extracts from carotid endarterectomy samples of 13 atherosclerotic patients. Cytokine, surface marker and transcription factor expression was studied on adventitial lymphocytes isolated by laser capture microdissection (LCM). In adventitia, B lymphocytes constituted diffuse infiltrates or formed small cell clusters. BCR sequence analysis revealed that individual samples contained each a limited number of B cell clones. Functional α1, α2, γ1 and γ2 mRNAs comprised the majority of H chain mRNAs. IgA could be the only expressed H chain isotype whereas IgM was frequently absent. The λ/κ ratio of L chain usage was inverted. Ig V regions were hyper mutated and used recurrent V(D)J associations with some noticeable sequence convergences toward identical CDRs. AID was expressed in several arterial walls, in keeping with the observation of a local H chain class switch. Using CDR3 sequences as clonotypic markers, we found that plaque and adventitia repertoires were different and that B cells were trafficking between adventitia and draining lymph nodes. Three adventitial B cell antibodies reconstructed by genetic engineering proved to be autoantibodies recognizing discrete arterial wall proteins. Most resident B lymphocytes were CD20 negative plasmablasts. However, they lacked markers of terminal differentiation to plasma cell (CD138 and Blimp-1). LCM isolated adventitial B lymphocytes expressed IL-6, GM-CSF and TNF-α whereas IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, M-CSF and IFN-γ were not detected. These features witness for a local and antigen-driven maturation selecting activated oligoclonal adventitial B lymphocytes able to act on inflammation and disease progression. Keywords: Atherosclerosis, B cells, Tissulat inflammation, Autoinflammation, Adpative immunity Conference: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Milan, Italy, 22 Aug - 27 Aug, 2013. Presentation Type: Abstract Topic: Adaptive Immunity Citation: Hamze M, Desmetz C, Berthe M, Roger P, Boulle N, Branchereau P, Picard E, Guzman C, Tolza C and Guglielmi P (2013). Functional properties of resident B cells in arterial walls of human atherosclerotic patients. Front. Immunol. Conference Abstract: 15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2013.02.00443 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 15 Apr 2013; Published Online: 22 Aug 2013. * Correspondence: Dr. Moustafa Hamze, University Montpellier 1, Faculty of pharmacy, Montpellier, Languedoc Roussillon, 34093, France, mostafa_hamze@hotmail.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Moustafa Hamze Caroline Desmetz Marie-Laurence Berthe Pascal Roger Nathalie Boulle Pascal Branchereau Eric Picard Caroline Guzman Claire Tolza Paul Guglielmi Google Moustafa Hamze Caroline Desmetz Marie-Laurence Berthe Pascal Roger Nathalie Boulle Pascal Branchereau Eric Picard Caroline Guzman Claire Tolza Paul Guglielmi Google Scholar Moustafa Hamze Caroline Desmetz Marie-Laurence Berthe Pascal Roger Nathalie Boulle Pascal Branchereau Eric Picard Caroline Guzman Claire Tolza Paul Guglielmi PubMed Moustafa Hamze Caroline Desmetz Marie-Laurence Berthe Pascal Roger Nathalie Boulle Pascal Branchereau Eric Picard Caroline Guzman Claire Tolza Paul Guglielmi Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.