The immune system’s B cells have the unique distinction of being the only cells in the human body that evolve, in real time – and an international team of scientists today announce in Nature Immunology that they have uncovered new insights into how these cells rapidly evolve in response to an infection or vaccine to produce better protective antibodies.
The fundamental discovery could lead to therapies that prepare our bodies to fight deadly diseases or, on the flip side, prevent our immune system from attacking transplanted organs. The research was funded in part by the UPMC Immune Transplant and Therapy Center – a partnership between UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh dedicated to understanding and harnessing the power of the immune system.
“It is utterly fascinating, the way B cells evolve in mere weeks to become stronger magnets to a newly invading pathogen, seeking out and capturing viruses and bacteria for destruction,” said co-author Dr. Harinder Singh, professor and director of systems immunology in Pitt’s School of Medicine. “By gaining a deeper molecular understanding of this process, we might be able to harness it for conditions including infectious diseases, transplantation, autoimmune disorders and cancer.”
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Nature Immunology.Research Paper:
