Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel Disease

B cells express an antigen‐specific B‐cell receptor (BCR) and may contribute to liver inflammation by recognizing shared antigens in the gut and liver. Herein, we used high‐throughput BCR sequencing of the immunoglobulin heavy chain, specifically the complementarity‐determining region 3 (CDR3), to c...

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Main Authors: Brian K. Chung, Eva Kristine Klemsdal Henriksen, Kristin Kaasen Jørgensen, Tom H. Karlsen, Gideon M. Hirschfield, Evaggelia Liaskou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Health/LWW 2018-08-01
Series:Hepatology Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/hep4.1200
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author Brian K. Chung
Eva Kristine Klemsdal Henriksen
Kristin Kaasen Jørgensen
Tom H. Karlsen
Gideon M. Hirschfield
Evaggelia Liaskou
author_facet Brian K. Chung
Eva Kristine Klemsdal Henriksen
Kristin Kaasen Jørgensen
Tom H. Karlsen
Gideon M. Hirschfield
Evaggelia Liaskou
author_sort Brian K. Chung
collection DOAJ
description B cells express an antigen‐specific B‐cell receptor (BCR) and may contribute to liver inflammation by recognizing shared antigens in the gut and liver. Herein, we used high‐throughput BCR sequencing of the immunoglobulin heavy chain, specifically the complementarity‐determining region 3 (CDR3), to characterize the B‐cell repertoire of freshly‐frozen paired gut and liver tissue samples from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and concurrent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (PSC‐IBD, n = 10) and paired formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) tumor‐adjacent normal colon and liver tissue from patients with colorectal liver metastases (controls, n = 10). We observed significantly greater numbers of B cells (P < 0.01) and unique B‐cell clonotypes (P < 0.05) in gut samples compared to liver samples of patients with PSC‐IBD, whereas BCR sequences in FFPE normal gut and liver samples were nearly absent (14 ± 5 clonotypes; mean ± SD; n = 20). In PSC‐IBD, an average of 8.3% (range, 1.6%‐18.0%) of B‐cell clonotypes were found to overlap paired gut and liver samples following the exclusion of memory clonotypes reported in the blood of healthy controls. Overlapping gut and liver clonotypes showed stronger evidence of antigen‐driven activation compared to non‐overlapping clonotypes, including shorter CDR3 lengths and higher counts of somatic hypermutation (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: A proportion of gut and liver B cells originate from a common clonal origin (i.e., likely to recognize the same antigen) in patients with PSC which suggests B‐cell antigens are shared across the gut–liver axis. (Hepatology Communications 2018; 00:000‐000)
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spelling doaj.art-3a41df40a76848efaaa0035636a3911f2023-09-03T05:05:28ZengWolters Kluwer Health/LWWHepatology Communications2471-254X2018-08-012896097110.1002/hep4.1200Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel DiseaseBrian K. Chung0Eva Kristine Klemsdal Henriksen1Kristin Kaasen Jørgensen2Tom H. Karlsen3Gideon M. Hirschfield4Evaggelia Liaskou5Centre for Liver Research and National Institute for Health Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Institute of Immunology and ImmunotherapyUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham United KingdomNorwegian PSC Research Center, Department of Transplantation Medicine, Division of Surgery, Inflammatory Medicine, and TransplantationOslo University Hospital RikshospitaletOslo NorwayNorwegian PSC Research Center, Department of Transplantation Medicine, Division of Surgery, Inflammatory Medicine, and TransplantationOslo University Hospital RikshospitaletOslo NorwayNorwegian PSC Research Center, Department of Transplantation Medicine, Division of Surgery, Inflammatory Medicine, and TransplantationOslo University Hospital RikshospitaletOslo NorwayCentre for Liver Research and National Institute for Health Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Institute of Immunology and ImmunotherapyUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham United KingdomCentre for Liver Research and National Institute for Health Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Institute of Immunology and ImmunotherapyUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham United KingdomB cells express an antigen‐specific B‐cell receptor (BCR) and may contribute to liver inflammation by recognizing shared antigens in the gut and liver. Herein, we used high‐throughput BCR sequencing of the immunoglobulin heavy chain, specifically the complementarity‐determining region 3 (CDR3), to characterize the B‐cell repertoire of freshly‐frozen paired gut and liver tissue samples from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and concurrent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (PSC‐IBD, n = 10) and paired formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) tumor‐adjacent normal colon and liver tissue from patients with colorectal liver metastases (controls, n = 10). We observed significantly greater numbers of B cells (P < 0.01) and unique B‐cell clonotypes (P < 0.05) in gut samples compared to liver samples of patients with PSC‐IBD, whereas BCR sequences in FFPE normal gut and liver samples were nearly absent (14 ± 5 clonotypes; mean ± SD; n = 20). In PSC‐IBD, an average of 8.3% (range, 1.6%‐18.0%) of B‐cell clonotypes were found to overlap paired gut and liver samples following the exclusion of memory clonotypes reported in the blood of healthy controls. Overlapping gut and liver clonotypes showed stronger evidence of antigen‐driven activation compared to non‐overlapping clonotypes, including shorter CDR3 lengths and higher counts of somatic hypermutation (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: A proportion of gut and liver B cells originate from a common clonal origin (i.e., likely to recognize the same antigen) in patients with PSC which suggests B‐cell antigens are shared across the gut–liver axis. (Hepatology Communications 2018; 00:000‐000)https://doi.org/10.1002/hep4.1200
spellingShingle Brian K. Chung
Eva Kristine Klemsdal Henriksen
Kristin Kaasen Jørgensen
Tom H. Karlsen
Gideon M. Hirschfield
Evaggelia Liaskou
Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Hepatology Communications
title Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel Disease
title_full Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel Disease
title_fullStr Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel Disease
title_full_unstemmed Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel Disease
title_short Gut and Liver B Cells of Common Clonal Origin in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis–Inflammatory Bowel Disease
title_sort gut and liver b cells of common clonal origin in primary sclerosing cholangitis inflammatory bowel disease
url https://doi.org/10.1002/hep4.1200
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