B cells - Latest research and news (2024)

The enduring neutrophil–stroma dance of multiple myeloma

Inflammatory memory cues initiated by neutrophils and bone marrow stroma suggest potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

• Daniela Cerezo-Wallis
• Iván Ballesteros

Loss of CREBBP and KMT2D cooperate to accelerate lymphomagenesis and shape the lymphoma immune microenvironment

CREBBP and KMT2D mutations frequently co-occur in B cell lymphomas with unclear significance. Here the authors show that they cooperate to skew B cell fate decisions and induce a CD8-depleted immune-evasive microenvironment to facilitate lymphomagenesis.

• Jie Li
• Christopher R. Chin
• Ari M. Melnick

Thioredoxin is a metabolic rheostat controlling regulatory B cells

Here the authors show a mechanism by which mitochondrial electron transport and ROS contribute to the differentiation and function of regulatory B cells in the context of systemic lupus erythematosus.

• Hannah F. Bradford
• Thomas C. R. McDonnell
• Claudia Mauri

Expression of USP25 associates with fibrosis, inflammation and metabolism changes in IgG4-related disease

IgG4-related disease is a fibro-inflammatory disorder, characterized by infiltration of IgG4 producing plasma cells in the target organs. Here authors show that the affected B cells express less ubiquitin-specific protease 25 (USP25), and this results in activation of multiple pathways involved in cytoskeleton reorganization, inflammation and energy metabolism, which might govern disease pathogenesis.

• Panpan Jiang
• Yukai Jing
• Chaohong Liu

Rab4A-directed endosome traffic shapes pro-inflammatory mitochondrial metabolism in T cells via mitophagy, CD98 expression, and kynurenine-sensitive mTOR activation

Activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is important in the metabolic function of proinflammatory T cells in autoimmunity. Here the authors characterise how Rab4A is involved with CD98 and endosome recycling which subsequently affects mTOR activation, autoimmunity and T cell expansion.

• Nick Huang
• Thomas Winans
• Andras Perl

Defective mitochondria remodelling in B cells leads to an aged immune response

B cell activation in the germinal centre (GC) is accompanied by metabolic adaptation, but the functions of mitochondria remodelling during this process is unclear. Here the authors find that B cell-specific deficiency of Tfam, a transcription factor modulating mitochondria remodelling, impacts GC responses and induces aged immune features in B cells.

• Marta Iborra-Pernichi
• Jonathan Ruiz García
• Nuria Martínez-Martín

Notch2 controls developmental fate choices between germinal center and marginal zone B cells upon immunization

Sustained exogenous Notch2 signaling prompts Follicular B cells to trans-differentiate into Marginal Zone B cells. This study reveals that under physiological conditions, Notch2 signalling regulates a fate choice in antigen activated Follicular B cells, dictating whether they develop into Germinal Center B cells or Marginal Zone B cells.

• Tea Babushku
• Markus Lechner
• Lothar J. Strobl

The enduring neutrophil–stroma dance of multiple myeloma

Inflammatory memory cues initiated by neutrophils and bone marrow stroma suggest potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

• Daniela Cerezo-Wallis
• Iván Ballesteros

Facilitating broad antibody responses

• Laurie A. Dempsey

Osteoblast-derived ATP maintains bone marrow plasma cells

Plasma cells use P2RX4 to sense the regulated release of ATP from osteoblasts and this protects against ER stress-driven apoptosis.

• Yvonne Bordon

ZEB2 promotes formation of age-related B cells

Age-related B cells (ABCs) have pathogenic roles in autoimmune diseases. Research has now identified ZEB2 as the transcription factor that mediates differentiation into ABCs.

• Robert Phillips

Tissues of origin matter to plasma cell longevity

Anatomical separation exists between the generation and lodging sites of plasma cells. Transcriptome analysis of tissue-resident plasma cells provides important insights into how newly generated plasma cells acquire longevity.

• Wataru Ise
• Tomohiro Kurosaki

ROS-induced metabolic reprogramming to one-carbon metabolism and S-adenosylmethionine-mediated epigenetic modification in IL-10-producing B cells for the resolution of pneumonia

• Sujin Lee
• Tae Jin Kim