DN2 have been associated with autoimmunity. We show that DN2 in SLE have reduced CD72 expression which associates with anti-dsDNA positivity, complement consumption and enhanced BCR downstream signalling. The relative resistance of CD72-negative B cells to RTX indicates that impaired checkpoint programme in lupus B cells may potentially contribute to disease relapse. These findings require validation in larger cohorts.
Wangriatisak et al. (Mon,) studied this question.