B cells in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissues encode focused antibody repertoires that include antibodies that stimulate macrophage TNF-α production.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by the production of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs). To gain insights into the relationship between ACPA-expressing B cells in peripheral blood (PB) and synovial tissue (ST), we sequenced the B cell repertoire in paired PB and ST samples from five individuals with established, ACPA+ RA. Bioinformatics analysis of paired heavy- and light-chain sequences revealed clonally-related family members shared between PB and ST. ST-derived antibody repertoires exhibited reduced diversity and increased normalized clonal family size compared to PB-derived repertoires. Functional characterization showed that seven recombinant antibodies (rAbs) expressed from subject-derived sequences from both compartments bound citrullinated antigens and immune complexes (ICs) formed using one ST-derived rAb stimulated macrophage TNF-α production. Our findings demonstrate B cell trafficking between PB and ST in subjects with RA and ST repertoires include B cells that encode ACPA capable of forming ICs that stimulate cellular responses implicated in RA pathogenesis.