Congratulations B Vingert from F Pirenne team for important paper showing that an anti-CD20 antibody prevents Red Blood Cell alloimmunization in a mouse model!

Congratulations to Benoît Vingert and his colleagues from France Pirenne’s team n°2 for his important article in J. Immunology showing that an anti-CD20 antibody prevents the alloimmunization of red blood cells in a murine model. Article included in the Journal of Immunology’s editorial of December 1st, 2017!

Alloimmunization against RBCs can cause life-threatening delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions. Anti-CD20 Ab has recently been used to prevent alloimmunization. However, its effects remain unclear, particularly in lymphoid organs. We investigated the impact of murine anti-CD20 Ab in the blood and spleen. We assessed protocols for preventing primary alloimmunization and for abolishing established alloimmunization. Prophylactic protocols prevented alloimmunization. However, anti-CD20 treatment could only limit the further amplification of established alloimmunization. Residual B cell subtype distribution was disrupted in the spleen, but adoptive transfer studies indicated that these cells were neither plasma nor memory cells. Anti-CD20 Ab had a major effect on alloreactive CD4+ T cells, increasing the expansion of this population and its CD40 expression, while lowering its CD134 expression, thereby confirming its role in alloimmunization. In conclusion, this study shows that anti-CD20 immunotherapy can prevent RBC Ab development. However, this immunotherapy is limited by the increase in alloreactive CD4+ T lymphocytes. Nevertheless, treatment with anti-CD20 Abs should be considered for patients requiring transfusion with a very high risk of alloimmunization and life-threatening complications.

Link to the abstract : Journal of Immunology, 2017, vol 199 n°11, p.3771-80. Full article via Biblioinserm