Epstein-Barr virus reprograms autoreactive B cells as antigen-presenting cells in systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by antinuclear antibodies (ANAs). Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection has been epidemiologically associated with SLE, yet its role in pathogenesis remains incompletely defined. Here, we developed an EBV-specific single-cell RNA-sequencing platform and used it to demonstrate that EBV infection reprograms autoreactive antinuclear antigen B cells to drive autoimmunity in SLE. We demonstrated that, in SLE, EBV + B cells are predominantly CD27 + CD21 low memory B cells that are present at increased frequencies and express ZEB2 , TBX21 (T-bet), and antigen-presenting cell transcriptional pathways. Integrative analysis of chromatin…

• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: R01 AI173189-01, PATHO-PH2-SUB, R01 R01AR078268