IRF7 promotes systemic autoimmunity by transcriptionally regulating B cell differentiation through germinal center and plasma cell pathways [ChIP-seq]

Little is known about how interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) promotes systemic autoimmunity. Here performed scRNAseq on B cells purified from the spleens of 3 month old FcgRIIB-/-IRF7-/- and FcgRIIB-/- controls. We identified a role for IRF7 in promoting the differentiation of B cells through the GC and PC pathways during an autoimmune response. To determine which genes IRF7 specifically controlled for this response, we purified class-switched activated B cells from FcgRIIB-/- mice and performed IRF7 ChIPseq. We identified that IRF7 transcirptionally regulated genes assocaited with B cell protein translation and metabolism. In summary, we have identified a B cell intrinsic role for IRF7 in driving the transcriptoinal profile required for GC and PC differentiation in SLE-like autoimmunity. 4 single cell RNAseq libaries with paired gene expression and 2 IRF7 ChiPseq libraries