Phenotypic and Functional Study of 4BL B Cells in Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Recent works highlight the B cells involvement in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathology but their role remains poorly understood. It was previously described that activated memory B cells called 4BL due to the increased expression of 4-1BBL, an activation marker, induce pro-inflammatory response by activating T CD8+ lymphocytes. Those 4BL cells are also described in systemic inflammation in 80 years old people explaining the poor efficiency of vaccination in that sub population. Those 4BL cells can also induce anti-tumoral T cell response. The hypothesize is that 4BL may induce a pathogenic inflammatory response in MS.