Abnormal germinal center reactions in systemic lupus erythematosus demonstrated by blockade of CD154-CD40 interactions
J. Clin. Invest. Amrie C. Grammer, et al. 112:1506 doi:10.1172/JCI19301 [Go to this article.]

Figure 7
Anti-CD154 treatment eliminates proliferating B cells and Ig-secreting B cells from the periphery of active-SLE patients. (a) Freshly isolated PBMCs from active-SLE patients before treatment, after two treatments, and 2–3 months after the final treatment were assessed for cell cycle following permeabilization, fixation, and staining with propidium iodide and APC-conjugated anti-CD19 Ab. The percentages of live cells in the S, G₂, or M stage are depicted. (b) Freshly isolated PBMCs from SLE no. 3 before treatment, after two treatments, and 3 months after the final treatment were assessed for intracellular Ig and cell cycle following permeabilization, fixation, and staining with propidium iodide and FITC-conjugated anti-Ig and APC-conjugated anti-CD19 Ab. The presence of IC Ig, the expression of CD38, and cell cycle status are depicted. The percentage of IC Ig⁺ B cells was determined by subtraction of the histogram generated for nonpermeabilized cells (surface Ig–positive) from the one generated for permeabilized cells (surface and IC Ig–positive) using CellQuest. The percentages of live cells that are CD38^bright or IC Ig⁺ are depicted. SSC, side scatter; FSC, forward scatter.