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Functional antibodies exhibit light chain coherence
Among naturally occurring antibodies that have adapted to antigen, those with similar heavy chains usually have similar light chains.
- David B. Jaffe
- , Payam Shahi
- & Wyatt J. McDonnell
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Article |
Establishment of fetomaternal tolerance through glycan-mediated B cell suppression
Pathways of glycan-mediated B cell suppression during pregnancy are important for promoting fetomaternal tolerance.
- G. Rizzuto
- , J. F. Brooks
- & A. Erlebacher
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Article |
Germinal centre-driven maturation of B cell response to mRNA vaccination
Sequencing of B cell receptors and expression of the corresponding monoclonal antibodies is used to characterize the evolution of the long-term B cell response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination.
- Wooseob Kim
- , Julian Q. Zhou
- & Ali H. Ellebedy
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Article |
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines induce persistent human germinal centre responses
Analysis of antigen-specific B cells in lymph nodes of individuals vaccinated with BNT162b2 reveals lasting germinal centre responses, explaining the robust humoral immunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines.
- Jackson S. Turner
- , Jane A. O’Halloran
- & Ali H. Ellebedy
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Article |
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells in humans
SARS-CoV-2 infection induces long-lived bone marrow plasma cells that correlate with anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein antibody titres in individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.
- Jackson S. Turner
- , Wooseob Kim
- & Ali H. Ellebedy
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Article |
Dynamic regulation of TFH selection during the germinal centre reaction
T follicular helper cells undergo antigen-dependent selection in germinal centres, with higher-affinity T cell receptors supporting stronger proliferation leading to their clonal dominance.
- Julia Merkenschlager
- , Shlomo Finkin
- & Michel C. Nussenzweig
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Article |
Loop extrusion mediates physiological Igh locus contraction for RAG scanning
Long-distance V(D)J recombination is facilitated by contraction of the Igh locus and linear RAG scanning along chromatin, both driven by cohesin-mediated loop extrusion, which allows recombination of widely separated gene segments to occur.
- Hai-Qiang Dai
- , Hongli Hu
- & Frederick W. Alt
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Article |
Defining HPV-specific B cell responses in patients with head and neck cancer
Detailed analyses of B cells in the tumour microenvironment of human papilloma virus (HPV)-linked head and neck cancers reveal strong humoral immune responses to HPV antigens and the secretion of HPV-specific antibodies in situ.
- Andreas Wieland
- , Mihir R. Patel
- & Rafi Ahmed
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Article |
IFITM3 functions as a PIP3 scaffold to amplify PI3K signalling in B cells
IFITM3 shifts upon phosphorylation from acting as an antiviral effector to being a scaffold for PIP3 and thereby amplifies PI3K signalling, which can be co-opted for malignant transformation in B cell leukaemia and lymphoma.
- Jaewoong Lee
- , Mark E. Robinson
- & Markus Müschen
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Article |
Human germinal centres engage memory and naive B cells after influenza vaccination
The human germinal centre response to influenza virus vaccination is fuelled by the continued recruitment of naive B cells as well as pre-existing memory B cells.
- Jackson S. Turner
- , Julian Q. Zhou
- & Ali H. Ellebedy
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Article |
CTCF orchestrates long-range cohesin-driven V(D)J recombinational scanning
Using an auxin-inducible approach, the authors show that downmodulation of CTCF activity promotes cohesin-driven RAG endonuclease scanning, and thus V(D)J recombination, across the Igh locus.
- Zhaoqing Ba
- , Jiangman Lou
- & Frederick W. Alt
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Article |
Wapl repression by Pax5 promotes V gene recombination by Igh loop extrusion
Pax5 regulates contraction of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) locus—an essential step in V(D)J recombination—by promoting chromatin loop extrusion via repression of Wapl expression.
- Louisa Hill
- , Anja Ebert
- & Meinrad Busslinger
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Letter |
The B-cell receptor controls fitness of MYC-driven lymphoma cells via GSK3β inhibition
Combined studies in MYC-driven mouse lymphomas and human Burkitt lymphoma unravel an essential role for the B-cell antigen receptor in the control of tumour B-cell fitness both in vitro and in vivo, with possible biological and clinical implications.
- Gabriele Varano
- , Simon Raffel
- & Stefano Casola
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Letter |
Germinal centre hypoxia and regulation of antibody qualities by a hypoxia response system
Hypoxia in germinal centres regulates B cell class switching via its effects on mTOR complex 1 and activation-induced cytosine deaminase activity.
- Sung Hoon Cho
- , Ariel L. Raybuck
- & Mark R. Boothby
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Letter |
Orientation-specific joining of AID-initiated DNA breaks promotes antibody class switching
High-throughput genome-wide sequencing reveals why class switch recombination in the IgH locus, an essential step in the process of antibody generation, has a directional joining bias towards deletion rather than inversion.
- Junchao Dong
- , Rohit A. Panchakshari
- & Frederick W. Alt
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Letter |
Noncoding RNA transcription targets AID to divergently transcribed loci in B cells
The 11-subunit RNA exosome is thought to regulate the mammalian noncoding transcriptome; here, a mouse model is generated in which the essential Exosc3 subunit of the RNA exosome in B cells is conditionally deleted, revealing a link between sites of genomic RNA exosome function and AID-mediated chromosomal translocations.
- Evangelos Pefanis
- , Jiguang Wang
- & Uttiya Basu
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Letter |
Visualization of splenic marginal zone B-cell shuttling and follicular B-cell egress
Lymphocyte migration in the spleen is visualized live in mice using a real-time two-photon laser-scanning microscopy approach revealing that marginal zone and follicular B cells are highly motile and can shuttle between compartments, and integrin adhesion is the key to cellular retention in the marginal zone.
- Tal I. Arnon
- , Robert M. Horton
- & Jason G. Cyster
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Letter |
Regulatory B cells control T-cell autoimmunity through IL-21-dependent cognate interactions
IL-21- and CD40-dependent cognate interactions with T cells are identified as key drivers for the generation of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells, which can protect against autoimmune disease.
- Ayumi Yoshizaki
- , Tomomitsu Miyagaki
- & Thomas F. Tedder
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Letter |
Endogenous antigen tunes the responsiveness of naive B cells but not T cells
Mature B cells encounter antigens during development that induce anergy or functional unresponsiveness; this large reservoir of dormant autoreactive B cells may serve as a pool of extended antibody specificity for purposes of protective immunity, as well as the source of pathogenic autoantibodies that characterize rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Julie Zikherman
- , Ramya Parameswaran
- & Arthur Weiss
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Article |
DNA damage defines sites of recurrent chromosomal translocations in B lymphocytes
A genome-wide analysis determines the contribution of DNA breaks and nuclear interactions to the formation of random versus recurrent translocations; whereas random translocations follow nuclear interaction profiles, the frequency of recurrent translocations is directly proportional to the amount of DNA damage at translocation partners.
- Ofir Hakim
- , Wolfgang Resch
- & Rafael Casellas
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News & Views |
A sweet cleft in HIV's armour
The structure of an antibody that potently neutralizes a wide range of HIV-1 strains, together with a minimal antigen mimic, is an advance towards the design of vaccines that may elicit protective responses. See Article p.336
- Quentin J. Sattentau
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Letter |
Acquisition of a multifunctional IgA+ plasma cell phenotype in the gut
IgA secreting plasma cells in the lamina propria are shown to be an important source of iNOS and TNF required to maintain the homeostatic balance between intestinal microbes and the immune system.
- Jörg H. Fritz
- , Olga Lucia Rojas
- & Jennifer L. Gommerman
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Letter |
Oxysterols direct B-cell migration through EBI2
- Changlu Liu
- , Xia V. Yang
- & Timothy W. Lovenberg
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Letter |
Oligomeric organization of the B-cell antigen receptor on resting cells
B cells are activated by many different antigens to produce appropriate antibodies. B cells express up to 120,000 B-cell antigen receptor (BCR) complexes on their surface, but how do these complexes remain silent on resting B cells, and how are they activated? It is found here that the BCR on resting cells forms oligomers, and that these may be an autoinhibited form of the receptor. Disruption of the oligomer shifts B cells towards activation.
- Jianying Yang
- & Michael Reth
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Research Highlights |
Cardiovascular biology: Low B cells, low plaques
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Letter |
B-cell-derived lymphotoxin promotes castration-resistant prostate cancer
In a mouse model of prostate cancer it is shown that infiltrating B cells promote tumorigenesis by secreting lymphotoxin. Lymphotoxin accelerates the emergence of castration-resistant prostate tumours in this model. Interfering with this pathway may offer therapeutic strategies for androgen-independent prostate cancer.
- Massimo Ammirante
- , Jun-Li Luo
- & Michael Karin
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News |
Blame it on the B cells
Immune cells seem to spark recurrent prostate cancer in mice.
- Brian Vastag
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron boosting induces de novo B cell response in humans