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Review
. 2015 Oct 15;61Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S225-34.
doi: 10.1093/cid/civ614.

B in TB: B Cells as Mediators of Clinically Relevant Immune Responses in Tuberculosis

Martin Rao  1 , Davide Valentini  2 , Thomas Poiret  1 , Ernest Dodoo  1 , Shreemanta Parida  1 , Alimuddin Zumla  3 , Susanna Brighenti  4 , Markus Maeurer  2
Affiliations
Review

B in TB: B Cells as Mediators of Clinically Relevant Immune Responses in Tuberculosis

Martin Rao et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

The protective role of B cells and humoral immune responses in tuberculosis infection has been regarded as inferior to cellular immunity directed to the intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, B-cell-mediated immune responses in tuberculosis have recently been revisited in the context of B-cell physiology and antigen presentation. We discuss in this review the diverse functions of B cells in tuberculosis, with a focus on their biological and clinical relevance to progression of active disease. We also present the peptide microarray platform as a promising strategy to discover unknown antigenic targets of M. tuberculosis that could contribute to the better understanding of epitope focus of the humoral immune system against M. tuberculosis.

Keywords: B cells; antibodies; cytokines; host-directed therapy; tuberculosis.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Role of antibodies in anti–Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. Abbreviations: FcγRIII, Fc gamma receptor III; IgA, immunoglobulin A; IgG, immunoglobulin G; LAM, lipoarabinomannan; MAC, membrane-attack complex; TB, tuberculosis.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
In situ activity of anti–Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) antibodies in lung granulomas. In addition to secreted Mtb antigens, immunoglobulin G and dimeric immunoglobulin A antibodies recognize Mtb surface structures such as lipoarabinomannan, heparin-binding hemagglutinin, and lipoproteins leading to antigen neutralization. Abbreviations: IgA, immunoglobulin A; IgG, immunoglobulin G; LTBI, latent tuberculosis; TB, tuberculosis.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Three-dimensional regression model for visualizing the 63 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) antigens listed in Table 1 captured via the peptide microarray platform. Intensity of antibody responses to the peptides constituting a particular protein is aligned against the length of the entire molecule, to indicate possible immunogenic “hotspots” of recognition among patients with tuberculosis (A) and healthy individuals (B). C, Differences in recognition between patients with tuberculosis and healthy individuals are plotted against protein length. Protein number refers to the sequential order of the antigens in Table 1. Abbreviations: Diff., difference; TB, tuberculosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global tuberculosis report 2014. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO, 2014.
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    1. Achkar JM, Chan J, Casadevall A. Role of B cells and antibodies in acquired immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2014; 5:a018432. - PMC - PubMed

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