Table 2.
Frequencies of B cells and subsets in patients with AAV and HBD.
| Phenotype | Patients (AAV) (n = 106) | HBD (n = 134) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| B cells (% of lymphocytes) | 5.13 (3.15-8.98) | 8.33 (5.98-11.6) | <0.0001 |
| B cells (106/L)a | 26.5 (15.2-69.4) | ||
| B cell subsets | |||
| Naive (% of B cells) | 47.8 (33.4-60.3) | 56.7 (47.9-67.0) | 0.0002 |
| Naive (106/L) | 12.1 (4.49-33.9) | ||
| Preswitch memory (% of B cells) | 6.32 (3.63-10.1) | 7.00 (4.65-10.2) | ns |
| Preswitch memory (106/L) | 1.86 (0.818-4.28) | ||
| Switched memory (% of B cells) | 22.3 (14.0-31.1) | 16.5 (11.4-21.8) | 0.0013 |
| Switched memory (106/L) | 5.78 (2.98-11.2) | ||
| Exhausted memory (% of B cells) | 21.2 (14.1-25.9) | 17.4 (12.0-21.6) | 0.0006 |
| Exhausted memory (106/L) | 5.30 (2.69-15.1) | ||
| Transitional (% of B cells) | 0.695 (0.0700-3.17) | 4.44 (2.83-6.18) | <0.0001 |
| Transitional (106/L) | 0.278 (0.0107-1.29) | ||
| Plasmablasts (% of B cells) | 0.885 (0.390-1.87) | 0.320 (0.160-0.613) | <0.0001 |
| Plasmablasts (106/L) | 0.293 (0.138-0.587) | ||
| Activated B cells and subsets | |||
| CD95+ B cells (% of B cells) | 20.6 (12.3-33.1) | 10.3 (7.24-15.5) | <0.0001 |
| CD95+ B cells (106/L) | 5.48 (3.24-11.2) | ||
| CD95+ naive (% of naive) | 3.38 (1.49-7.24) | 1.02 (0.575-1.71) | <0.0001 |
| CD95+ naive (106/L) | 0.427 (0.194-0.833) | ||
| CD95+ preswitch memory (% of preswitch memory) | 23.0 (16.4-38.7) | 13.5 (9.07-19.8) | <0.0001 |
| CD95+ preswitch memory (106/L) | 0.355 (0.190-0.892) | ||
| CD95+ switched memory (% of switched memory) | 59.7 (51.2-73.0) | 44.6 (36.0-51.9) | <0.0001 |
| CD95+ switched memory (106/L) | 3.15 (1.70-6.66) | ||
| CD95+ exhausted memory (% of exhausted memory) | 25.2 (15.0-35.0) | 14.0 (8.38-18.2) | <0.0001 |
| CD95+ exhausted memory (106/L) | 1.27 (0.667-2.78) |
Frequencies of B cells (CD19+ lymphocytes) and subsets analyzed in patients and healthy controls using flow cytometry. The Mann-Whitney test was used to calculate the level of significance. Data are presented with medians and interquartile ranges. AAV: antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody- (ANCA-) associated vasculitis; HBD: healthy blood donors; ns: not significant. an equals 101 for absolute values.