Heterogeneous origin of IgE in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis revealed by B cell receptor repertoire analysis

Background Epicutaneous sensitization is an important route for the production of IgE, and skin inflammation-induced IgE has recently been reported having features of natural antibody. Atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis have differentially increased level of serum IgE; however, the production mechanism of IgE in these inflammatory skin diseases remains unknown. Objective To explore the origin of IgE in AD and psoriasis by analyzing the B cell receptor repertoire. Methods mRNA was prepared from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of AD and psoriasis patients that had elevated serum levels of IgE, and immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) repertoires were sequenced after reverse transcription. Clonal lineages of B cells containing members expressing IgE were identified, and somatic hypermutations in IGH inherited from common ancestors within the clonal lineage were used to infer the relationships between B cells. Results The proportions of IGHE from AD and psoriasis were higher than that of normal control, which were positively correlated with the levels of serum total IgE. The somatic hypermutation value of IGHE variable region was lower than that of IGHG and IGHA, but higher than IGHM and IGHD, indicating a mixed natural and adaptive origins of IgE; and psoriasis demonstrated lower level of hypermutation than AD. The Shannon indexes of CDR3 in IGHE of AD and psoriasis were higher than that of normal control, also supporting the natural origin. The VH usage of IgE was weakly biased in AD and psoriasis patients with high level of house dust mite-specific IgE. Comparison of the number of shared mutations in multi-isotype lineages containing IgE showed that isotype-switching from IgG-expressing B cells might be the major source of IgE in AD and psoriasis. Conclusion IgE has heterogeneous origin in AD and psoriasis, and skin inflammation may contribute to the increased production of natural IgE.

Automated summary

Epicutaneous sensitization is an important route for IgE production, and the origin of IgE in atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis is heterogeneous. Skin inflammation may contribute to the increased production of natural IgE, with isotype-switching from IgG-expressing B cells potentially being a major source of IgE in these inflammatory skin diseases.