Nature Immunology: The fate of antibody-producing B cells may be "destined"

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered in a study the main regulators that drive the development of antibody-producing cells

This research, published in the journal Nature Immunology on September 23, combines computational analysis, advanced molecular biology, and genomics technology to identify a protein called Oct2, which is a b-cell body fluid.

During infection or after vaccination, mature B cells form a germinal center, a kind of pop-up training facility

"All our cells have a defense mechanism to prevent mutations, but B cells are just the opposite; they are good at mutating, and they mutate very fast," the co-authors of the research report, Sandra and Edward Maid of Weill Cornell Medical College Said Dr.

Previous studies have shown that B cells control the maturation of their germinal centers by changing the accessibility of different parts of their genomes, and trigger a cascade of changes in gene expression to guide and limit their development

To answer this question, Ashley Doane, a student at Weill Cornell Medical School, worked with him at Weill Cornell Medicine and Rockefeller University.

Dr.

However, the distribution of OCT2 in the germinal center is surprisingly similar to the distribution of mature b-cells before activation

Dr.

The concept of cell fate—and the identification of its specific mechanism—may be the most profound discovery of this paper

"I think this may be a far-reaching discovery that can be applied to many different transitions between cell types," said co-senior author Dr.

For example, during embryonic development, a single cell divides and matures into all cells of a complete organism, following a series of branch decision points, which may use similar mechanisms to label super enhancers for later activation

Targeting master regulators such as OCT2 and OCA-B, or the corresponding factors of other cell types, can also provide a powerful new method to attack cancer

"Usually what you will see is that if a gene is very important for maintaining the cancer state, the gene will be super-enhancer," said Dr.

Destroying the ability of tumor cells to form key cell types, specific super-enhancers can effectively destroy them, shutting down their entire survival strategy

Original title:

Antibody-Producing B Cells May be "Predestined" for their Fates