This paper is hard core science and too methodological for you to bother reading but, I report it to show how complex the B cells are. We usually define B memory cells by a marker called CD27. If B cells express CD20+/CD19+ and CD27. They are called memory B cells. In this paper they look at the expression of a number of markers and they see a lot of diversity. They define classical memory B cells by the co-expression of CD21 and CD27. CD21 is a receptor that EBV uses to express B cells. This study suggests that by adding more markers into the detection you can see it is alotmore complicated. So the question is which ones are important in MS?
Ioannidis LJ, Mitchell AJ, Zheng T, Hansen DS. CyTOF mass cytometry analysis of human memory CD4+ T cells and memory B cells. STAR Protoc. 2022 Mar 30;3(2):101269.
High-dimensional mass cytometry provides unparalleled insight into the cellular composition of the immune system. Here, we describe a mass-cytometry-based protocol to examine memory CD4+ T cell and memory B cell (MBC) responses in human peripheral blood. This approach allows for the identification of >50 distinct memory CD4+ T cell and MBC populations from a single clinical sample. This highly reproducible protocol has been successfully applied to multiple infectious disease settings to identify correlates of susceptibility or protection from infection. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Ioannidis et al. (2021).
Is it reasonable to assume that all MS Specialists should at least be familiar with the term “Memory B Cell”? Might it be cause for concern if they know nothing about them?
Evidence suggests they should!
Thanks
Next stop macrophages
Are also 50 different types ?
Are the spike proteins on the EBV virus, similar or even very similar, to the proteins on the surface of the myelin sheaths? If not, how does the EBV provoke an immune response against myelin sheaths?
Most of the material covered is already known. However it is intriguing that African-American is the ONLY ‘model’ that makes news. How about African-British or African-German mixed heritage offspring with MS ? Perhaps the #s are small but I am sure someone is paying attention, right ? Curiously enough, Africans (who remained or remain in Africa) do NOT seem to be affected by MS (or the disease is NOT as prevalent as it is in AA populations). Genetic admixture to blame ?
Annette Langer Gould has published extensively on this topic (AA and MS, that is).
I had written on Vitamin D and MS in the AA cohort and wondered if it would help at all (?).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26303623/
and on the topic of AAs and phase 3 clinical trials,
Avasarala, J., Zachariah, P., & Turner, B. (2021). Pivotal clinical trial enrollment of Blacks in multiple sclerosis or neuromyelitis spectrum disorder: When will we achieve parity? CNS Spectrums, 1-3. doi:10.1017/S1092852921000183
DOI: 10.1017/S1092852918001517
https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.79
There is obviously more to be done. I suggested, in an open forum, that research into AA aspects of MS need to be prioritized by having research fellowships dedicated ONLY to MS in the AAs. I suggested big cities in the US to be the centers (Universities located in big cities, like Washington DC, Dallas, LA, Chicago, etc.) that would lead the way. I received one response that said it was a good idea. Just one. At least one.
So much for walking the walk.