A glycosylation-dependent CD45RB epitope defines previously unacknowledged CD27−IgMhigh B cell subpopulations enriched in young children and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

The immune system is dysfunctional for years after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A potential cause is an intrinsic B cell deficiency. In a cohort of pediatric HSCT patients few CD27(+) B cells formed after transplantation with the number of CD27(+)IgM(high) cells more affected than class-switched ones. A previously unacknowledged population of CD27(-)IgM(high) cells made up the majority of B cells and this population was also enlarged in healthy children compared to adults. Only a minority of these CD27(-)IgM(high) B cells expressed markers typical for transitional B cells, and the non-transitional CD27(-)IgM(high) cells could be further divided into subpopulations based on their ability to extrude the dye Rhodamine 123 and their expression of CD45RB(MEM55), a glycosylation-dependent epitope. Thus, we define several novel human CD27(-)IgM(high) B cell subpopulations in blood, all of which are present in higher frequencies and numbers in young children and after HSCT than in adults.