2026 — Plasmablast storms: microbial drivers of autoimmune flares
One-paragraph summary
Framework paper articulating a "plasmablast storm" model in which autoimmune flares are often accompanied by abrupt surges of circulating plasmablasts (short-lived, high-output antibody-secreting cells generated through extrafollicular B-cell activation in response to microbial cues). Three microbial-input categories repeatedly trigger plasmablast storms: (1) latent herpesvirus reactivations (EBV, CMV, HHV-6, VZV); (2) acute respiratory or gastrointestinal infections including SARS-CoV-2; (3) chronic oral or gut dysbiosis. Although biologically distinct, these stimuli converge on innate sensing pathways driven by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (unmethylated CpG DNA, ssRNA, etc.). For the project, this paper bridges H1 (autoimmune-microbiome chain) and the viral-genome-modification upstream layer (HERV reactivation framework). Plasmablast storms are the cellular-effector layer where viral triggers (Bjornevik 2022 EBV-MS framework) and dysbiosis (Jakobsson 2026 BA-IgG framework) converge. Directly relevant to v0.4 architectural reframing.
Claims as triples
viral_infection — causes → plasmablast_storm[evidence: herpesvirus reactivation + respiratory/GI infection drivers; confidence: emerging]gut_brain_axis_disruption — causes → plasmablast_storm[evidence: chronic dysbiosis as repeated trigger; confidence: emerging]plasmablast_storm — bridges → fm_autoimmune[evidence: cellular-effector convergence of viral + dysbiotic upstream drivers; confidence: bridging]
Triangulation notes
- Bridges H1 (autoimmune-microbiome) and the viral-genome-modification upstream layer. Plasmablast storms are the convergent cellular-effector mechanism that both upstream chains can produce.
- Reinforces the cross-indication / cross-trigger framing the v0.3.3 §14 articulates: a shared cellular-effector substrate (plasmablast extrafollicular activation) underlies autoimmune flares across viral, infectious, and dysbiotic triggers.
- Discovered via watchlist query WL-5 (broader anti-IFN landscape framing surfaced this paper).