Single cell RNA sequencing of synovial B cells in early Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a prevalent autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the peripheral joints and occurence of autoantibodies, i.e. Rheumatoid Factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA), in circulation. Previous studies have shown that there are memory B cells and autoantibody producing plasma cells present in the joint tissue of patients with long-standing RA. However, it has remained unclear, whether these B cell populations are already present in the joint tissue of patients at the disease onset and whether these are autoreactive. Here, we used a single cell RNA sequencing approach to dissect the B cell repertoire at this early timepoint. We found evidence for B and T cell interaction and presence of memory and plasma cell pools in ACPA- and ACPA+ RA. Our results demonstrated clonal relationships between the memory and plasma cell compartments and autoreactivity within the plasma cell pool. These findings challenge our understanding of the local adaptive immune response in the joints of ACPA- and ACPA+ RA patients with direct implications for B and T cell targeting therapy in both patient subgroups.

• Type: Other
• Archiver: European Genome-Phenome Archive (EGA)