Background

B cells play a crucial role during rhinovirus (RV) infections by production of virus-neutralizing antibodies. A main feature of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is hypogammaglobulinemia (HG). HG patients have severely reduced levels of antibody-producing B cells and suffer from prolonged virus infections. Here, we addressed whether antiviral response of peripheral blood lymphocytes differs between HG patients and healthy individuals during natural RV infection.

Methods

Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting, B-cell subsets were analyzed. Simultaneously, CD19 + B cells, CD14 + monocytes, and CD3 + T cells were sorted from frozen peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 11 RV-infected hypogammaglobulinemia patients, 7 RV-infected control subjects, and 14 noninfected control subjects. Real-time PCR was used to study expression of antiviral genes. A pan-RV PCR was used to detect RV genome in all samples.

Results

In HG patients, total B-cell numbers, as well as IgA + and IgG + switched memory B cells, were reduced while naive B cells and T cells were increased. STAT1 expression was increased in HG patients compared to controls in all lymphocyte subsets analyzed. The expression of antiviral genes IFITM1 and MX1 correlated with STAT1 expression in B cells and monocytes. RV RNA was found in 88.9% of monocytes from infected HG patients, 85.7% of monocytes from infected controls, and 7.1% of monocytes from uninfected controls.

Conclusions

We demonstrate an increased antiviral response in B cells and monocytes in HG patients and their correlation with STAT1 expression. Monocytes of infected HG patients and infected non-HG controls carry RV RNA.