Published in:
Open Access
01-04-2022 | Multiple Sclerosis | Original Paper
BTK inhibition limits B-cell–T-cell interaction through modulation of B-cell metabolism: implications for multiple sclerosis therapy
Authors:
Rui Li, Hao Tang, Jeremy C. Burns, Brian T. Hopkins, Carole Le Coz, Bo Zhang, Isabella Peixoto de Barcelos, Neil Romberg, Amy C. Goldstein, Brenda L. Banwell, Eline T. Luning Prak, Michael Mingueneau, Amit Bar-Or
Published in:
Acta Neuropathologica
|
Issue 4/2022
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Abstract
Inhibition of Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase (BTKi) is now viewed as a promising next-generation B-cell-targeting therapy for autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS). Surprisingly little is known; however, about how BTKi influences MS disease-implicated functions of B cells. Here, we demonstrate that in addition to its expected impact on B-cell activation, BTKi attenuates B-cell:T-cell interactions via a novel mechanism involving modulation of B-cell metabolic pathways which, in turn, mediates an anti-inflammatory modulation of the B cells. In vitro, BTKi, as well as direct inhibition of B-cell mitochondrial respiration (but not glycolysis), limit the B-cell capacity to serve as APC to T cells. The role of metabolism in the regulation of human B-cell responses is confirmed when examining B cells of rare patients with mitochondrial respiratory chain mutations. We further demonstrate that both BTKi and metabolic modulation ex vivo can abrogate the aberrant activation and costimulatory molecule expression of B cells of untreated MS patients. Finally, as proof-of-principle in a Phase 1 study of healthy volunteers, we confirm that in vivo BTKi treatment reduces circulating B-cell mitochondrial respiration, diminishes their activation-induced expression of costimulatory molecules, and mediates an anti-inflammatory shift in the B-cell responses which is associated with an attenuation of T-cell pro-inflammatory responses. These data collectively elucidate a novel non-depleting mechanism by which BTKi mediates its effects on disease-implicated B-cell responses and reveals that modulating B-cell metabolism may be a viable therapeutic approach to target pro-inflammatory B cells.