Dynamics of follicular helper T cell subsets in RA patients before and after treatment.

FERRERO, PAOLA V.; ZACCA, ESTEFANIA R.; CADILE, ISAAC I.; CONSTANTINO, ALICIA; ONOFRIO, LUISINA I.; PONCE, NICOLAS E.; ONETTI, LAURA; ACOSTA RODRÍGUEZ, EVA V.; ACOSTA, CRISTINA D. V.; MUSSANO, EDUARDO; WERNER, MARINA; GRUPPI, ADRIANA

Washington DC

Congreso; American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting; 2020

American College of Rheumatology

Background/Purpose: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the production of autoantibodies like Rheumatoid Factor and Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptides. CD4+ follicular helper T cells (Tfh) play a critical role in immunity by supporting several events involved in antibody (Ab) production by B cells, including class-switch recombination, germinal center B cell differentiation, and affinity maturation. Remarkably, high levels of Tfh are associated with humoral autoimmunity. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of Tfh in RA patients presenting auto-Ab under different treatment conditions and to characterize the Tfh according their ability to produce IL-17 and IFN-γ, cytokines with opposite roles in Ab production.