Latest B cell Stories

An article in Science Signaling by researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology (RCAI) has clarified for the first time the mechanism governing differentiation of B cells into antibody-producing plasma cells. The finding establishes a role for the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway in B cell differentiation, a key step toward the development of B cell-targeted drugs for treatment of autoimmune diseases and allergies.As the only cells in the...

Tokyo, Apr 22, 2011 - (JCN Newswire) - An article in Science Signaling by researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology (RCAI) has clarified for the first time the mechanism governing differentiation of B cells into antibody-producing plasma cells. The finding establishes a role for the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway in B cell differentiation, a key step toward the development of B cell-targeted drugs for...

A study featured on the cover of the March 15 Journal of Immunology is providing insight into why the elderly are so vulnerable to pneumonia and other bacterial infections.Compared with younger adults, the elderly are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from pneumonia. Moreover, vaccines against the disease are less effective in the elderly.To help understand why, Loyola researchers examined two types of immune system cells, macrophages and B cells, located in specialized areas...

New research that reveals how maternal antibodies block an immune response to the measles virus is a first step toward improving current childhood vaccination practices, scientists say.Maternal antibodies are passed to fetuses during pregnancy and to newborns in their mothers' milk. The antibodies protect infants against disease in the first months of life, but that protection comes at a cost: Their presence also interferes with the generation of a natural immune response to vaccination. As a...

Our immune systems contain three fundamentally different types of cell:  B-cells, T-cells and the mysteriously named Natural Killer cells (NK cells), which are known to be involved in killing tumor cells and other infected cells.  Experiments to investigate the function of NK cells have proven difficult to interpret because the interactions between the various components of the immune system make it almost impossible to isolate effects of individual cell types.  This has changed with...

First report of a recombinant human biotherapeutic active against leukemic stem cellsScientists at the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases and The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles today announced a breakthrough discovery in understanding how the body fights leukemia. They have identified a protein called CD19-ligand (CD19-L) located on the surface of certain white blood cells that facilitates the recognition and destruction of leukemia cells by the...

Biologists have discovered that primitive, predatory lampreys have structures within their gills that play the same role as the thymus, the organ where immune cells called T cells develop in mammals, birds and fish.The finding suggests that in vertebrate evolution, having two separate organs for immune cell development -- the bone marrow for B cells and the thymus for T cells -- may have preceded the appearance of the particular features that mark those cells, such as antibodies and T cell...

Immunologist Thomas L. Rothstein, MD, PhD, and his colleagues from The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have staked their reputations on finding these so-called "B1 cells" that make "natural" protective antibodies and come online before the adaptive immune system is mature enough to start working. And that is precisely what they have done. Manhasset, NY (Vocus/PRWEB) January 21, 2011 It has long been thought that the human body contains innate immune defense B cells that are...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. and MONROVIA, Calif., Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) and Xencor, Inc. announced today that they will collaborate to develop XmAb(®)5871, an Fc- engineered monoclonal antibody dually targeting CD19 and CD32b. XmAb5871 is currently in late-stage preclinical development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Amgen has the option to an exclusive worldwide license following the completion of a pre-defined Phase 2...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) "“ A new study provides insight into the underlying pathology associated with the autoimmune disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The research shows an unexpected role for a key type of immune cell could provide a potential new therapeutic strategy for SLE and, possibly, other autoimmune diseases.SLE is a chronic systemic disease that can affect many regions of the body and, as a result, presents with diverse clinical symptoms. As is characteristic of other...