Scleroderma Peripheral B Lymphocytes Secrete Interleukin‐6 and Transforming Growth Factor β and Activate Fibroblasts

Abstract

The numbers of activated B cells were increased in SSc patients, and the up-regulation of CD5, CD86, IL-6R, and IL-21R discriminated between patients with dcSSc and those with lcSSc. Peripheral B lymphocytes from SSc patients secreted both IL-6 and TGFβ, and they activated fibroblasts in vitro.