B cells articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    IgG4-related disease is a fibro-inflammatory disorder, characterized by infiltration of IgG4 producing plasma cells in the target organs. Here authors show that the affected B cells express less ubiquitin-specific protease 25 (USP25), and this results in activation of multiple pathways involved in cytoskeleton reorganization, inflammation and energy metabolism, which might govern disease pathogenesis.

    • Panpan Jiang
    • , Yukai Jing
    •  & Chaohong Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is important in the metabolic function of proinflammatory T cells in autoimmunity. Here the authors characterise how Rab4A is involved with CD98 and endosome recycling which subsequently affects mTOR activation, autoimmunity and T cell expansion.

    • Nick Huang
    • , Thomas Winans
    •  & Andras Perl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    B cell activation in the germinal centre (GC) is accompanied by metabolic adaptation, but the functions of mitochondria remodelling during this process is unclear. Here the authors find that B cell-specific deficiency of Tfam, a transcription factor modulating mitochondria remodelling, impacts GC responses and induces aged immune features in B cells.

    • Marta Iborra-Pernichi
    • , Jonathan Ruiz García
    •  & Nuria Martínez-Martín

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sustained exogenous Notch2 signaling prompts Follicular B cells to trans-differentiate into Marginal Zone B cells. This study reveals that under physiological conditions, Notch2 signalling regulates a fate choice in antigen activated Follicular B cells, dictating whether they develop into Germinal Center B cells or Marginal Zone B cells.

    • Tea Babushku
    • , Markus Lechner
    •  & Lothar J. Strobl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Autoantibody production is a hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here, the authors demonstrate that antibody-secreting cells from patients with SLE display features of premature maturation and increased survival, which are mediated by intrinsic and extrinsic programmes including autocrine APRIL.

    • Weirong Chen
    • , So-Hee Hong
    •  & Ignacio Sanz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Il-10-expressing B cells play a pivotal role in immune homeostasis, but little is known about the factors and pathways that affect the development of this heterologous population of regulatory B cells. Here authors show in a mouse model that in embryonic life, soluble IgM restrains the expansion of Il-10-positive B cells, via utilizing FcµR and other putative receptors.

    • Shannon Eileen McGettigan
    • , Lazaro Emilio Aira
    •  & Gudrun F. Debes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    B cell activation and differentiation entails metabolic remodelling, involving differential utilisation of monocarboxylates such as L-lactate and pyruvate. Here authors show by B-cell-specific genomic deletion of monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) that the consequential scarcity of pyruvate results in decreased acetylation of Histone H3 at K27, leading to decreased AID transcription and deficient class switching to IgG.

    • Wenna Chi
    • , Na Kang
    •  & Ligong Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The use of single cell sequencing has enabled more detailed analysis of the immune response to infection. Here the authors characterise the immune response to malaria infection in an endemic region using single cell transcriptomics indicating regulatory signatures associated with infection.

    • Nicholas L. Dooley
    • , Tinashe G. Chabikwa
    •  & Michelle J. Boyle

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The function of B cells in peripheral blood and secondary lymphoid organs has long been appreciated but whether and how they contribute to tissue immune homeostasis is lesser known. Non-lymphoid organs harbour tissue-resident B cells that include a substantial population of B-1 cells and promote homeostatic anti-inflammatory macrophage polarization via IL-10, with profound effects on bacterial clearance during local infection.

    • Ondrej Suchanek
    • , John R. Ferdinand
    •  & Menna R. Clatworthy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Increasing evidence suggests that antigen presentation by B cells is critical to the initiation of autoimmunity. Here, the authors demonstrate that tolerance breakdown is initiated outside of germinal centres and that B cells can directly instruct T cells to break tolerance and propagate autoimmune responses.

    • Cecilia Fahlquist-Hagert
    • , Thomas R. Wittenborn
    •  & Søren E. Degn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    HIV-1 infection is known to impact the gut mucosa, effecting the microbiota and immune system, but early antiretroviral therapy is linked to partial reversal of this phenomena. Here the authors explore the impact of early commencement of antiretroviral therapy and show this can limit the abnormal responses of intestinal B cells associated with HIV-1 infection.

    • Cyril Planchais
    • , Luis M. Molinos-Albert
    •  & Hugo Mouquet

  • Article
    | Open Access

    B cells pursue specific genetic programs to facilitate downstream cellular functions. Here the authors identify, using a combination of proteomic, transcriptomic and functional analyses, a group of mRNAs related to early activation and antibody production that are expressed in B cells without corresponding proteins, hinting a ‘poised’ state of B cells.

    • Fiamma Salerno
    • , Andrew J. M. Howden
    •  & Martin Turner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Linking proteins secreted from individual cells with other cellular information is challenging. Here, authors report a high-throughput method which uses hydrogel nanovials loaded with single cells to link the secretion profile of individual cells with their surface markers and transcriptomic data.

    • Rene Yu-Hong Cheng
    • , Joseph de Rutte
    •  & Richard G. James

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 relies on both antibodies and a T cell dependent response, however, direct experimental evidence for the contribution of cellular immunity is limited. Here authors present a mouse model that is susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and lacks B cells to demonstrate the emergence of efficient cellular immune response against SARS-CoV-2 upon vaccination or viral challenge.

    • Xiaolei Wang
    • , Terrence Tsz-Tai Yuen
    •  & Jian-Dong Huang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The dysfunction of IL-10 secreting regulatory B cells has been linked to the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease. Here the authors show that low dose IL-2 therapy can enhance IL-10 production in regulatory B cell populations via the modulation of BACH2.

    • Akimichi Inaba
    • , Zewen Kelvin Tuong
    •  & Menna R. Clatworthy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The germinal centre (GC) response is characterized by regulated production of high affinity, class-switched antibodies in response to T-cell dependent antigens. Here authors show that the GC response is not only regulated at the transcriptional and protein levels, but also by the RNA-binding protein hnRNP F via alternative splicing of the co-stimulatory molecule CD40.

    • Hengjun Huang
    • , Yuxing Li
    •  & Xijun Ou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Class switch recombination (CSR) is a process by which B cells switch their immunoglobulin isotype and develop pathogen-eliminating antibodies. Here, the authors show that a protein kinase DYRK1A is required for protection from viral infection through the regulation of CSR and effective clonal expansion.

    • Liat Stoler-Barak
    • , Ethan Harris
    •  & Ziv Shulman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Plasma cells are terminally differentiated B cells that are specialized for antibody secretion. Authors show here that genomic deletion of the p38α mitogen activated protein kinase specifically in the B cell lineage leads to diminished plasma cell differentiation via impairment of a transcriptional regulatory program by BLIMP1.

    • Jianfeng Wu
    • , Kang Yang
    •  & Jiahuai Han

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The persistence of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 after recovery from infection is an indicator for subsequent protection against infection. Here the authors follow recovered patients and measure antibody and T cell responses and find that these two parts of the immune response may have different longevity.

    • Dominik Menges
    • , Kyra D. Zens
    •  & Jan S. Fehr

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are tissue-resident immune cells recognizing lipid antigens. Here the authors find that liver, but not lung nor spleen, iNKT cells alter their transcriptome upon systemic treatment of lipid nanoparticles for the induction of regulatory B cells and suppression of liver and pancreas autoimmunity in mouse models.

    • Channakeshava Sokke Umeshappa
    • , Patricia Solé
    •  & Pere Santamaria

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Targeting integrin-mediated retention of malignant B cells in their protective microenvironment is an efficacious treatment for lymphoma and leukemia. Here, the authors present an unbiased loss-of-adhesion CRISPR screening method, identifying therapeutic targets for these B-cell malignancies.

    • Martin F. M. de Rooij
    • , Yvonne J. Thus
    •  & Marcel Spaargaren

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Follicular and marginal zone B (FoB and MZB, respectively) cells have divergent metabolic characteristics. Here the authors show that deficiency of glutamate cysteine ligase (Gclc), the enzyme for glutathione synthesis, differentially impacts FoB and MZB homeostasis, while specifically impeding FoB activation and downstream antiviral immunity.

    • Davide G. Franchina
    • , Henry Kurniawan
    •  & Dirk Brenner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    IgD is expressed, predominantly together with IgM, via mRNA alternative splicing, but IgD class switch recombination (IgD CSR) has also been reported. Here the authors show, using Rad52-deficient mouse and human B cells, that IgD CSR is mediated by Rad52 through an alternative, microhomology-based end-joining pathway of DNA repair.

    • Yijiang Xu
    • , Hang Zhou
    •  & Paolo Casali

  • Article
    | Open Access

    B cell progenitors differentiate into multiple subsets with distinct functions. Here the authors analyze the epigenetic landscapes of sorted B cell subsets using multiple platforms and show that the epigenetic regulator, DNMT3A, is essential for modulating the activity of enhancers critical for B1 and B2 lineage-determining genes.

    • Vinay S. Mahajan
    • , Hamid Mattoo
    •  & Shiv Pillai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by progressive dementia and amyloid beta plaque deposition. Here the authors show in three relevant transgenic animal models that accumulation of activated B cells is central to AD pathology and depletion of B cells interferes with both histological and behavioural manifestations of the disease.

    • Ki Kim
    • , Xin Wang
    •  & Arya Biragyn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Immune cells infiltrating the tumour microenvironment play critical roles in disease pathogenesis and the immune response. Here the authors present the characterisation of infiltrating B cells in breast tumours by the formation of an atlas created from paired RNA sequence and antigen receptor profiling.

    • Qingtao Hu
    • , Yu Hong
    •  & Yu Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Regulatory B (Breg) cells suppress excessive inflammation primary via the production of interleukin 10 (IL-10). Here the authors show that the function and homeostasis of mouse and human IL-10+ Breg cells are negatively regulated by the cell surface receptor, SLAMF5, to impact experimental autoimmunity, thereby hinting SLAMF5 as a potential target for immunotherapy.

    • Lihi Radomir
    • , Matthias P. Kramer
    •  & Idit Shachar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Regulatory B cells have been shown to play critical roles in the modulation of the immune system. Here, the authors implicate TIGIT expression in B cells with the process of immuno-regulation.

    • Md Mahmudul Hasan
    • , Sumi Sukumaran Nair
    •  & SangKon Oh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During differentiation, chromosome conformation is remodelled to support lineage-specific transcriptional programs. Here, the authors characterise chromosome conformational changes in B lymphocytes as they differentiate into plasma cells, and provide evidence that chromosome reconfiguration occurs prior to DNA replication and mitosis and guides gene expression that controls differentiation.

    • Wing Fuk Chan
    • , Hannah D. Coughlan
    •  & Rhys S. Allan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Notch signalling is central to marginal zone B cell development, but it is unclear what path this development takes in vivo. Here the authors use a mouse that lacks these cells to show that transgenic induction of Notch2 is sufficient for development of marginal zone B cells via transdifferentiation from follicular B cells and that this mechanism can occur in wildtype mice.

    • Markus Lechner
    • , Thomas Engleitner
    •  & Ursula Zimber-Strobl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The dynamics of genome architecture during human cell differentiation and upon neoplastic transformation remain poorly characterized. Here, the authors integrate in situ Hi-C and nine additional omic layers to characterize the dynamic changes in 3D genome architecture during normal B cell differentiation and in neoplastic cells from chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma patients.

    • Roser Vilarrasa-Blasi
    • , Paula Soler-Vila
    •  & José Ignacio Martin-Subero

  • Article
    | Open Access

    CTLA-4 is an important co-inhibitory receptor for T cells. Here, the authors show that CTLA-4 also has a function on B-1a cells, as conditional deletion results in activation of these cells and knockout mice develop an autoimmune profile.

    • Yang Yang
    • , Xiao Li
    •  & Leonore A. Herzenberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Human memory B cells differentiate from naïve B cells and can express different immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes resulted from class-switch recombination. Here the authors describe, using transcriptional and epigenetic data from human memory B cells and integrated multi-omics analyses, the differentiation regulation and trajectory of IgG+, IgA+ and IgD+ memory B cells.

    • Justin B. Moroney
    • , Anusha Vasudev
    •  & Paolo Casali

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Depending on the cell cycle stage, cells can repair their genome via different pathways. Here the authors reveal mechanistic insights into repair of double strand breaks induced during G1 in an error-prone manner by Pol θ-dependent and PARP1-independent alt NHEJ during the SG2/M phases of the cell cycle

    • Wei Yu
    • , Chloé Lescale
    •  & Ludovic Deriano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The development of activated B cells into antibody-secreting cells (ASC) is a critical step for humoral immunity. Here the authors show, using adoptive transfers and single cell RNA sequencing, that commitment to ASC occurs soon following B cell activation, and is coordinated by specific transcriptome programs and proliferation kinetics.

    • Christopher D. Scharer
    • , Dillon G. Patterson
    •  & Jeremy M. Boss

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