19: B cell activation during Behçet disease: Possible BAFF involvement in pathogenesis

Behcet disease (BD) is a systemic inflammatory disorder with uncertain etiology. This disease is frequent in Algeria. Several studies reported the presence of auto-antibodies during Behcet disease. In this study, we evaluated the production of IL-6 and BAFF during Behcet disease and their effect on B cell responses in vitro . 26 patients with BD during active ( n  = 16) or inactive ( n  = 10) stage were included in our study. Plasma were obtained from patients and controls peripheral blood. BAFF and IL-6 were assessed by ELISA tests while total IgG, IgA and IgM were measured by nephelometry. Control Peripheral B lymphocytes (PBL) were purified and cultured in RPMI 1640 complemented by 10% FBS and antibiotics in presence or absence or patients’ plasma (20%). After 24 h, cells’ activation and/or differentiation markers were analyzed by flow cytometry (CD19, CD5, IgD, CD38). The comparison of the groups tested was performed by Mann–Whitney U test for soluble factors while markers’ expression was compared by Student T test. Our results showed a significant IL-6 and BAFF production increase during BD in comparison to controls ( p p p