The role of memory B cell in tonsil and peripheral blood in the clinical progression of IgA nephropathy

Background: B cells in tonsil, which may produce the nephritogenic IgA, have been incriminated in the pathogenesis of IgAN. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of memory B cell in clinical progression of IgAN. Methods we investigated 28 IgAN patients and 27 age-matched patients with chronic tonsillitis without IgAN, who were treated by tonsillectomy, meanwhile, the peripheral blood (PB) of 10 healthy individuals were also as control groups. In tonsil and PB, the frequency of memory B cells were tested by Flow cytometric (FCM).Results: In this study, higher percentage of memory B cells were observed in tonsil and PB of IgAN patients. After tonsillectomy, the percentage of memory B cells in IgAN patients were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than before tonsillectomy. Meanwhile, in tonsil and PB, the percentage of memory B cells variated with the variation of urinary finding of IgAN patients.Conclusions: The percentage of memory B cell in tonsil and PB could predict disease progression of IgAN to a certain extend; it’s variation in pre- and post- tonsillectomy can provide theoretical basis to cure IgAN patients indirectly.