Determination of Functional B Cell Defects in HIV-1 Infection, Common Variable Immunodeficiency and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus through the Flow Cytometric Analysis of Naive and Memory Subsets

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Beulig, Alfred

Keywords

HIV-1, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Common Variable Immunodeficiency, Flow Cytometry, B Lymphocytes, Immunology

Area of Concentration

Biology

Abstract

There is a common misconception that HIV-1 infection affects only T cells, but the reality is that it has a drastic impact on both the cell-mediated and humoral arms of the immune system. B cell defects have been well described in the literature for systemic lupus erythematosus and common variable immunodeficiency, two diseases that have similarities to HIV-1 infection in terms of B cell dysfunction, such as aberrant B cell activation and differentiation resulting in maturation arrest and lower memory B cell proportions. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of expression of activation and differentiation markers in the na�ve and memory B cell subsets in peripheral blood of the three patient populations. The results indicated that through the flow cytometric analysis of surface markers including CD19, B220, CD27, CD21, CD23, CD80, CD86, IgM, IgD and IgG, the functional B cell defects observed in HIV infection were found to be due to late stage defects in B cell development. This was evidenced by decreased late memory B cell frequencies (CD27+B220-), increased expression of activation and differentiation markers in this memory population (CD80+CD86+) and decreased expression of complement receptor CD21 in the memory population. The frequency of class-switching, however, was retained in the memory B cells of HIV infected patients.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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