Follicular helper-like T cells in the lung highlight a novel role of B cells in sarcoidosis

Effector/memory T cells were sorted from sarcoidosis patient's bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and peripheral blood (PBMC) as well as healthy donor peripheral blood and tonsil. RNA-sequencing was performed to assess their global phenotype. Total number of samples: 15. Overall design: T cells from BAL (4 samples), tonsil (2 samples) and PBMC (3 patients and 3 healthy donor controls) were sorted on an ARIA II flow sorter (Becton Dickinson) as DAPI- CD14- CD16- CD19- CD3+ CD4+ CD45RA- CD45RO+. Tonsillar T cell were further sorted for CXCR5/PD-1 double-positive or -negative to discriminate Tfh and non-Tfh cells. RNA was isolated using a Qiagen (Hilden, Germany) RNeasy Micro Kit.