Tracing the fate determination mechanism of B lymphocytes in immunity

Living organisms such as humans are equipped with immune systems to defend themselves against foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. The core function of this immune system is executed by B lymphocytes, which recognize foreign bodies and eliminate them by producing antibodies. B lymphocytes can produce an unlimited number of different antibodies against a diverse array of foreign bodies by utilizing random rearrangement of gene segments encoding antibodies (immunoglobulin genes). However, this random genetic change can inevitably create a risk of producing antibodies that attack the body itself; this phenomenon is manifested as so-called "autoimmune diseases".

It is our biggest issue to clarify what sorts of mechanisms make B lymphocytes to differentiate and proliferate, to select cells that recognize foreign bodies (good cells) or our body itself (bad cells), to eliminate bad cells and maintain good cells and to differentiate good cells into plasma cells, thereby leading to production of only good antibodies. Of course, understanding these mechanisms is able to lead to the development of more efficient therapies to cure immune disease such as allergy and autoimmune diseases.

Link

Laboratory of Lymphocyte Differentiation, Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University
http://lymph.ifrec.osaka-u.ac.jp/index.html