Cytokine production by human B cells: role in health and autoimmune disease

Abstract

B cells are classically considered solely as antibody-producing cells driving humoral immune responses to foreign antigens in infections and vaccinations as well as self-antigens in pathological settings such as autoimmunity. However, it has now become clear that B cells can also secrete a vast array of cytokines, which influence both pro- and anti-inflammatory immune responses. Indeed, similarly to T cells, there is significant heterogeneity in cytokine-driven responses by B cells, ranging from the production of pro-inflammatory effector cytokines such as IL-6, through to the release of immunosuppressive cytokines such as IL-10. In this review, focusing on human B cells, we summarize the key findings that have revealed that cytokine-producing B cell subsets have critical functions in healthy immune responses and contribute to the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases.

Keywords: B cells; autoimmunity; cytokine; inflammation.

Graphical Abstract

Figure 1:

polyfunctionality of cytokine-producing B cell subsets. The schematic summarises the currently described functional subsets of cytokine-producing B cells. IL: interleukin; TNF: tumour necrosis factor; IFN: interferon; LT: lymphotoxin; GM-CSF: granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Breg: regulatory B cell.

Figure 2:

a timeline of key discoveries characterising the function of cytokine-producing B cell subsets in humans. The ability of B cells to secrete cytokines was first described in the 1980s and 1990s. These studies formed the basis of the field as it stands today: that context-dependent activation of human B cells leads to the production of both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and that production of these cytokines is altered in different pathologies. IL: interleukin; TNF: tumour necrosis factor; IFN: interferon; LT: lymphotoxin; GM-CSF: granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.