Abstract
Dominant-negative mutations in STAT-3 have recently been found in the majority of patients with sporadic or autosomal-dominant hyper IgE syndrome (HIES). Since STAT-3 plays a role in B cell development and differentiation, we analyzed memory B cells in 20 patients with HIES, 17 of which had STAT-3 mutations. All but four patients had reduced non-switched and/or class-switched memory B cells. No reduction in these B cell populations was found in 16 atopic dermatitis patients with IgE levels above 1000 KU/L. There was no correlation between the reduction of memory B cells and the ability to produce specific antibodies. Moreover, there was no correlation between the percentage of memory B cells and the infection history. Analysis of memory B cells can be useful in distinguishing patients with suspected HIES from patients with atopic disease, but probably fails to identify patients who are at high risk of infection.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Clinical Immunology |
| Volume | 129 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | 448-454 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| ISSN | 1521-6616 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 12.2008 |
Funding
S.E. is supported by the SFB620 (Project A4). J.L.F. is supported by the Grant colciencias 1115-04-12014. B.G. is supported by DFG grant GR1617/3 and the European Union grants SP23-CT-2005-0064110 and MEXT-CT-2006-042316.
Research Areas and Centers
- Academic Focus: Center for Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM)