Reconstitution of peripheral blood (PB) B cells after therapeutic depletion with the chimeric anti-CD20 antibody rituximab (RTX) mimics lymphatic ontogeny. In this situation, the repletion kinetics and migratory properties of distinct developmental B-cell stages and their correlation to disease activity might facilitate our understanding of innate and adaptive B-cell functions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Clinic for Rheumatology, Clinical Immunology, and Allergology, Inselspital - University Hospital of Bern, Freiburgstrasse, Bern 3010, Switzerland. burkhard.moeller@insel.ch