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B cell subsets contribute to myocardial protection by inducing neutrophil apoptosis after ischemia and reperfusion
Fangyang Huang, Jialiang Zhang, Hao Zhou, Tianyi Qu, Yan Wang, Kexin Jiang, Yutong Liu, Yuanning Xu, Mao Chen, Li Chen
Fangyang Huang, Jialiang Zhang, Hao Zhou, Tianyi Qu, Yan Wang, Kexin Jiang, Yutong Liu, Yuanning Xu, Mao Chen, Li Chen
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Research Article Cardiology Immunology

B cell subsets contribute to myocardial protection by inducing neutrophil apoptosis after ischemia and reperfusion

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Abstract

A robust, sterile inflammation underlies myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury (MIRI). Several subsets of B cells possess the immunoregulatory capacity that limits tissue damage, yet the role of B cells in MIRI remains elusive. Here, we sought to elucidate the contribution of B cells to MIRI by transient ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in B cell–depleted or –deficient mice. Following ischemia and reperfusion (I/R), regulatory B cells are rapidly recruited to the heart. B cell–depleted or –deficient mice exhibited exacerbated tissue damage, adverse cardiac remodeling, and an augmented inflammatory response after I/R. Rescue and chimeric experiments indicated that the cardioprotective effect of B cells was not solely dependent on IL-10. Coculture experiments demonstrated that B cells induced neutrophil apoptosis through contact-dependent interactions, subsequently promoting reparative macrophage polarization by facilitating the phagocytosis of neutrophils by macrophages. The in vivo cardioprotective effect of B cells was undetectable in the absence of neutrophils after I/R. Mechanistically, ligand-receptor imputation identified FCER2A as a potential mediator of interactions between B cells and neutrophils. Blocking FCER2A on B cells resulted in a reduction in the percentage of apoptotic neutrophils, contributing to the deterioration of cardiac remodeling. Our findings unveil a potential cardioprotective role of B cells in MIRI through mechanisms involving FCER2A, neutrophils, and macrophages.

Authors

Fangyang Huang, Jialiang Zhang, Hao Zhou, Tianyi Qu, Yan Wang, Kexin Jiang, Yutong Liu, Yuanning Xu, Mao Chen, Li Chen

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Figure 8

The protective effect of B cells against MIRI vanished in the absence of neutrophils.

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The protective effect of B cells against MIRI vanished in the absence of...
Neutrophil depletion (ND) was performed by i.p. injection of mAb clone 1A8 (200 μg) once every 3 days. In the condition of ND, mice with or without B cell depletion underwent MIRI. (A) Principal component analysis of RNA-seq profile of ischemic myocardium in the 2 groups (n = 4 mice per group). (B) Volcano plots of gene expression profile data in samples of the 2 groups. (C) KEGG enrichment analysis of DEGs between the 2 groups. (D) Representative images of H&E staining of heart sections from the 2 groups. Scale bars: 100 μm. (E) Apoptotic cardiac cells were detected via TUNEL staining 1 day after myocardial I/R. Scale bar: 50 μm. (F) Serum cardiac troponin I level in the 2 groups 1 day after myocardial I/R (n = 5–6 mice per group). (G) Echocardiographic measurements of cardiac function and cardiac size between B cell–depleted mice and controls 14 days after MIRI in the condition of ND. (H) Representative images of Masson’s trichrome staining of heart slice and quantification of infarct size after myocardial I/R in each group. Scale bars: 1000 μm. The infarct size was determined by calculating the ratio of the collagen area to the left ventricular area. BD, B cell depletion; cTnI, cardiac troponin I; I/R, ischemia and reperfusion; LVIDd, left ventricular diastolic dimension; LVIDs, left ventricular systolic dimension; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; LVFS, left ventricular fractional shortening; TUNEL, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated nick-end labeling. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. Differences between the 2 groups were compared by unpaired, 2-tailed t test.

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