Pathways Involved in Immune Regulation and B Cell Selection

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Our aim is to understand the genetics of immune disease in humans, and to develop new therapeutic strategies that can interrupt the development of autoimmunity. To understand how abnormal regulation of the immune system leads to autoimmune disease we are studying the cells involved in ‘immunological memory’ which is the basis for all vaccination strategies and leads to the development of long-term immunity to infectious disease. We have developed new methods of tracking cells and characterizing the events involved in generation of immunity and we are using these to study self tolerance to antigens inside cells – for example those involved in the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We have used a model to look for defects in the immune response to self and foreign antigens, and are linking genes with their biological outcomes. We have identified a protein called Roquin, as a potentially important protein in the development of rheumatoid arthritis and SLE and we are now working on molecules that could be used as a therapy to reduce the self-directed immune response in these two debilitating diseases.