B-cell populations discriminate between pediatric- and adult-onset multiple sclerosis

Abstract

We demonstrate distinct changes in intrathecal B-cell homeostasis in patients with pedMS during active disease, which differ from those in adults by an expansion of plasmablasts in blood and CSF and similarly occur in prototypic autoantibody-driven autoimmune disorders. This emphasizes the particular importance of activated B-lymphocyte subsets for disease progression in the earliest clinical stages of MS.