AUTHOR=Wu Fengping , Gao Jinfang , Kang Jie , Wang Xuexue , Niu Qing , Liu Jiaxi , Zhang Liyun TITLE=B Cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis：Pathogenic Mechanisms and Treatment Prospects JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=12 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.750753 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2021.750753 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common, chronic, systemic autoimmune disease, and its clinical features are the proliferation of joint synovial tissue, the formation of pannus and the destruction of cartilage. The global incidence of RA is about 1%, and it is more common in women. The basic feature of RA is the body’s immune system disorders, in which autoreactive CD4+T cells, pathogenic B cells, M1 macrophages, inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and autoantibodies abnormally increase in the body of RA patients B cell depletion therapy has well proved the important role of B cells in the pathogenesis of RA, and the treatment of RA with B cells as a target has also been paid more and more attention. Although the inflammatory indicators in RA patients receiving B-cell depletion therapy have been significantly improved, the risk of infection and cancer has also increased, which suggests that we need to deplete pathogenic B cells instead of all B cells. However, at present we cannot distinguish between pathogenic B cells and protective B cells in RA patients. In this review, we explore fresh perspectives upon the roles of B cells in the occurrence, development and treatment of RA.