Overactive STAT3 drives accumulation of disease-associated CD21^low B cells

SUMMARY

Dysregulated STAT3 signalling is correlated with antibody-mediated autoimmunity and B- cell neoplasia, but its effect on B cells is underexplored. Here we address this in children with STAT3 gain-of-function (GOF) syndrome and in mice with STAT3^T716M, the most common STAT3 GOF syndrome human mutation, or STAT3^K658N, a dimerization interface mutation responsible for STAT3 GOF syndrome in two children. The main B cell consequence of overactive STAT3 was accumulation of CD19^high CD21^low atypical memory B cells in humans and of CD21^low CD23^low B cells in mice resembling age-associated B cells expressing T-bet, CD11c and plasma cell differentiation genes. Overactive STAT3 within B cells increased expression of many genes in the B cell receptor and T cell help pathways, increased the tolerogenic receptor CD22, but opposed B cell tolerance checkpoints and increased formation of T-bet+ B cells upon BCR and CD40 stimulation. These results reveal overactive STAT3 as a central driver of a key class of disease- associated B-lymphocytes in humans and mice.