Effective vaccines exist for many pathogens. But rational design methods have failed to generate vaccines against many important pathogens. Importantly, our understanding of the molecular pathways involved in generating long-lived and broadly protective immunity is incomplete. Using a newly discovered molecule, this application is directed at understanding pathways that regulate the ability of B cells to provide durable and cross-protective antibody responses. We have discovered that the transcription factor Zbtb20 is required for maintenance of long lived plasma cells, with only high affinity clones persisting afte immunization. These findings provide us with the unique opportunity to: 1) Identify the signaling and survival pathways that regulate plasma cell diversity and lifespan through genetic complementation experiments; 2) Determine the function of low and moderate affinity antibodies in cross-protection against viruses and in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity.

Public Health Relevance

The length of time that antibodies persist after vaccination and infection and the efficacy of these antibodies against related pathogens varies widely. The goal of this proposal is to identify and manipulate the molecular mechanisms that regulate both the duration and cross-reactivity of antibody responses after vaccination.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
4R01AI099108-05
Application #
9120777
Study Section
Cellular and Molecular Immunology - B Study Section (CMIB)
Program Officer
Ferguson, Stacy E
Project Start
2012-09-24
Project End
2017-08-31
Budget Start
2016-09-01
Budget End
2017-08-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Washington University
Department
Pathology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
068552207
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Lam, Wing Y; Jash, Arijita; Yao, Cong-Hui et al. (2018) Metabolic and Transcriptional Modules Independently Diversify Plasma Cell Lifespan and Function. Cell Rep 24:2479-2492.e6
Lam, Wing Y; Bhattacharya, Deepta (2018) Metabolic Links between Plasma Cell Survival, Secretion, and Stress. Trends Immunol 39:19-27
Egawa, Takeshi; Bhattacharya, Deepta (2018) Regulation of metabolic supply and demand during B cell activation and subsequent differentiation. Curr Opin Immunol 57:8-14
Jash, Arijita; Wang, Yinan; Weisel, Florian J et al. (2016) ZBTB32 Restricts the Duration of Memory B Cell Recall Responses. J Immunol 197:1159-68
Chou, Chun; Verbaro, Daniel J; Tonc, Elena et al. (2016) The Transcription Factor AP4 Mediates Resolution of Chronic Viral Infection through Amplification of Germinal Center B Cell Responses. Immunity 45:570-582
Lam, Wing Y; Becker, Amy M; Kennerly, Krista M et al. (2016) Mitochondrial Pyruvate Import Promotes Long-Term Survival of Antibody-Secreting Plasma Cells. Immunity 45:60-73
Wang, Yinan; Bhattacharya, Deepta (2014) Adjuvant-specific regulation of long-term antibody responses by ZBTB20. J Exp Med 211:841-56
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