Evidence for enhanced Bruton’s tyrosine kinase activity in transitional and naïve B cells of patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis

Abstract

We show that BTK protein and phosphorylation levels are most profoundly increased in newly emerging B cells of active GPA patients compared with remission patients. BTK blockade greatly inhibits in vitro B cell effector functions in GPA patients and HCs. These promising data identify BTK as an interesting novel therapeutic target in the treatment of GPA.