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In addition to their well-known function as antibody-producing cells, B lymphocytes can markedly influence the course of infectious or noninfectious diseases via antibody-independent mechanisms. In tuberculosis (TB), B cells accumulate in lungs, yet their functional contribution to the host response remains poorly understood.To document the role of B cells in TB in an unbiased manner.We generated the transcriptome of B cells isolated from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb)-infected mice and validated the identified key pathways using in vitro and in vivo assays. The obtained data were substantiated using B cells from pleural effusion of patients with TB.B cells isolated from Mtb-infected mice displayed a STAT1 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 1)-centered signature, suggesting a role for IFNs in B-cell response to infection. B cells stimulated in vitro with Mtb produced type I IFN, via a mechanism involving the innate sensor STING (stimulator of interferon genes), and antagonized by MyD88 (myeloid differentiation primary response 88) signaling. In vivo, B cells expressed type I IFN in the lungs of Mtb-infected mice and, of clinical relevance, in pleural fluid from patients with TB. Type I IFN expression by B cells induced an altered polarization of macrophages toward a regulatory/antiinflammatory profile in vitro. In vivo, increased provision of type I IFN by B cells in a murine model of B cell-restricted Myd88 deficiency correlated with an enhanced accumulation of regulatory/antiinflammatory macrophages in Mtb-infected lungs.Type I IFN produced by Mtb-stimulated B cells favors macrophage polarization toward a regulatory/antiinflammatory phenotype during Mtb infection.

Original publication

DOI

10.1164/rccm.201707-1475OC

Type

Journal article

Journal

American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine

Publication Date

03/2018

Volume

197

Pages

801 - 813

Addresses

1 Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, Université de Toulouse, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.