Deciphering alternative functions of B lymphocytes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Deciphering alternative functions of B lymphocytes - Réjean LAPOINTE The immune system is responsible for helping our body to respond against aggressors. For long time, it was believed that B lymphocytes have mostly a central role in antibody production. However, in addition to this important goal, we now have more information on additional alternative functions of B lymphocytes, as they may also produce several molecules important for the communication between immune cells (called cytokines) and they have the capacity to present pieces of aggressors to other cells of the immune system. However, how these functions are regulated has not been fully defined. We have identified an array of genes and proteins that may be involved in the control of these functions. In this research program, we will characterize some molecular and cellular events controlling alternative functions. Specifically, we have tools in my laboratory which will allow us to remove the gene we have identified. Once these are absents, we will evaluate the capacity of B lymphocytes to produce cytokines. Also, we will evaluate how the capacity of presenting aggressors is affected by the modulation of these potential control genes, which may act as on/off switches. Impact and relevance : Thus, this is essentially a research program oriented to the understanding of the control mechanisms of alternative B cells functions, different from antibody production, and to the training of highly-qualified personnel (HQP), which is within the objective of the Discovery grant program. As long-term objectives, we propose to bridge this gap in knowledge by identifying genes/proteins involved in the regulation of alternative B cell functions, by understanding their mechanisms of action, and to learn more about the biology of B lymphocytes, as we succeeded in the past.