B lymphocyte autoimmunity in rheumatoid synovitis is independent of ectopic lymphoid neogenesis.

Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and. B lymphocyte autoimmunity plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. The local production of autoantibodies and the presence of ectopic lymphoid neogenesis in the rheumatoid synovium suggest that these dedicated microenvironments resembling canonical lymphoid follicles may regulate the initiation and maturation of B cell autoimmunity. In this study, we assessed experimentally the relevance of ectopic lymphoid neogenesis for B cell autoimmunity by a detailed structural, molecular, and serological analysis of seropositive and seronegative human synovitis. We demonstrate that synovial lymphoid neogenesis is a reversible process associated with inflammation which is neither restricted to nor preferentially associated with autoantibody positive rheumatic conditions.... [read full story]