A key regulator for humoral immunity and B lymphoma

B-cells producing antibodies (© Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library) - The generation of antibodies in B-cells takes place in a dynamic structure that forms during infections, the germinal center (GC). The formation of GCs lays at the heart of the immune response; this process is highly regulated and not fully understood yet. The Matthias group now provides novel insights into the regulation of GC formation and GC-derived B cell lymphomas, highlighting one particular transcriptional coactivator as the master regulator of the GC reaction and a possible therapeutic target for lymphoma. The humoral immune response is a multi-step dynamic process that is initiated in response to invading pathogens such as viruses or bacteria. The clearance of blood-borne pathogens critically depends on antibodies that play key roles in leading to their destruction and stimulating additional steps of the response. Upon encountering antigens, high-affinity antibodies are generated in specialized structures, the germinal centers (GCs), which transiently form in the peripheral lymphoid organs such as the spleen or the lymph nodes. Within the GCs, B cells - which migrated there from the bone marrow - interact with T cells and dendritic cells and proliferate at a rate that is unparalleled in other mammalian tissues.