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Mitochondrial regulation

Germinal centers FAMished without TFAM

Nature Immunology volume 24, pages 893–894 (2023)Cite this article

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Deletion of TFAM, the master regulator of mitochondrial transcription and translation, limits germinal center reactions. Notably, TFAM affects several processes beyond bioenergetics, such as migration, signaling, somatic hypermutation and redox balance.

The germinal center (GC) reaction is a centerpiece of how vaccine boosts broaden the specificities and increase the affinities of antibodies directed against microbial (and other) proteins. In this process, the selection of B cell clones that can yield humoral memory is effected by a choreography of regulated B cell movements paired with somatic hypermutation of B cell antigen receptor molecules. In this issue of Nature Immunology, Yazicioglu et al.1 showcase the importance of functional mitochondria in GC B cells.

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Fig. 1: TFAM controls B cell entry into the GC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, School of Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Julia Jellusova

  2. TranslaTUM, Center for Translational Cancer Research, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Julia Jellusova

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  1. Julia Jellusova
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Correspondence to Julia Jellusova.

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The author declares no competing interest.

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Jellusova, J. Germinal centers FAMished without TFAM. Nat Immunol 24, 893–894 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-023-01507-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-023-01507-z

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