Humoral immunity

Humoral immunity refers to antibody-mediated immune responses. Antibodies are produced by plasma cells and protect the host from infection in three main ways: by binding to pathogens to inhibit their toxic effects or infectivity (neutralization), by coating pathogens and facilitating their uptake and killing by phagocytes (opsonization) and by activating the complement cascade.

Latest Research and Reviews

Research
02 February 2023 | Open Access

HIV vaccine candidate efficacy in female macaques mediated by cAMP-dependent efferocytosis and V2-specific ADCC

HIV vaccine development can be aided by knowledge of correlates of protection. Here the authors identify engagement and reprogramming of tolerogenic CD14⁺ myeloid cells mediating a spatiotemporal balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory responses, as correlates of efficacy in female macaques vaccinated with the DNA/ALVAC/gp120/Alum platform.
- Massimiliano Bissa
- , Sohyoung Kim
- & Genoveffa Franchini
Nature Communications 14, 575
Reviews | 01 February 2023

The therapeutic age of the neonatal Fc receptor

Neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) supports host defence through its role in antibody recycling and transcytosis, as well as by regulating immune effector cells together with classical Fc receptors for IgG. However, in autoantibody-mediated disease, these activities can be harmful. FcRn-blocking strategies are now showing promise in the clinic.
- Michal Pyzik
- , Lisa K. Kozicky
- & Richard S. Blumberg
Nature Reviews Immunology, 1-18
Research
19 January 2023 | Open Access

Structural basis for a conserved neutralization epitope on the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2

An antibody, IY-2A, identified from a panel of class-4 SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies isolated from convalescent and vaccinated individuals, targets and induces partial unfolding of a conserved epitope within the RBD. IY-2A retains activity against BA.4/5 subvariants and neutralizes diverse sarbecoviruses.
- Kuan-Ying A. Huang
- , Xiaorui Chen
- & Che Ma
Nature Communications 14, 311
Research | 19 January 2023

An epithelial cell-derived metabolite tunes immunoglobulin A secretion by gut-resident plasma cells

Reboldi and colleagues show that high-cholesterol diets influence IgA secretion. Cholesterol-derived metabolites act on plasma cell GPR183 receptors to alter cell positioning of IgA⁺ plasma cells within the lamina propria and suppress antibody responses to intestinal pathogens.
- Simona Ceglia
- , Alyssa Berthelette
- & Andrea Reboldi
Nature Immunology, 1-14
Research | 16 January 2023

Molecular fate-mapping of serum antibody responses to repeat immunization
- Ariën Schiepers
- , Marije F. L. van ’t Wout
- & Gabriel D. Victora
Nature, 1-3
Research
16 January 2023 | Open Access

Linear epitope mapping of the humoral response against SARS-CoV-2 in two independent African cohorts
- Inès Vigan-Womas
- , Jean-Louis Spadoni
- & Matthieu Schoenhals
Scientific Reports 13, 782

All Research & Reviews

News and Comment

News & Views | 19 December 2022

Simulations that capture antigen–antibody complexity

Antigen–antibody prediction remains a complex computational challenge. Simulations with the new Absolut! package provide novel insights into the models and datasets tackling this problem.
- Pieter Meysman
Nature Computational Science 2, 781-782
News & Views | 12 December 2022

Bridging the neutralization gap for unseen antibodies

Antibodies are an essential class of therapeutics but low breadth or off-target binding are major concerns for antibody–drug efficiency and safety. To predict which targets an antibody can neutralize, a machine learning pipeline based on an adaptive graph convolutional network architecture is proposed that learns the binding landscape of antibodies to multiple mutated viruses at the same time.
- Philippe A. Robert
- & Victor Greiff
Nature Machine Intelligence 5, 8-10
Research Highlights | 11 November 2022

Immature and mature antibodies as defenders against cancer
- Robin V. Lacombe
- , Sophie Sibéril
- & Jordan D. Dimitrov
Cellular & Molecular Immunology 20, 3-5
News & Views | 10 November 2022

Mouse long-lived plasma cells develop from multiple origins

By combining single-cell mRNA sequencing and a genetic pulse–chase mouse model, we identified multiple subsets of mouse long-lived plasma cells and showed that these cells can originate from diverse developmental routes.

Nature Immunology 23, 1521-1522
Research Highlights | 04 November 2022

Immunosuppression
- Stephanie Houston
Nature Immunology 23, 1520
News & Views | 31 October 2022

The secret to longevity, plasma cell style

An enduring antibody response is ultimately dependent on the generation and maintenance of long-lived plasma cells. New research describes the use of single-cell transcriptomics approaches to reveal the defining features of longevity in plasma cells.
- Julie Tellier
- & Stephen L. Nutt
Nature Immunology 23, 1507-1508