The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first gene therapy, Kymriah, to treat B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It uses a lentivirus to modify the patient’s T cells to kill tumor cells. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, is caused by uncontrolled growth of B cells, which normally produce antibodies to fight off infections. It …
On episode #345 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVonauts review how the weather affects West Nile virus disease in the US, benefit of B cell depletion for ME/CFS patients, and an autoimmune reaction induced by influenza virus vaccine that leads to narcolepsy. You can find TWiV #345 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) showed clinical improvement after extended treatment with the anti-B-cell monoclonal antibody rituximab. This result suggests that in a subset of patients, ME/CFS might be an autoimmune disease. Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody against a protein on the surface of B cells known as CD20. When the antibody is given to …
On episode #312 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVbolans discuss the finding that human noroviruses, major causes of gastroenteritis, can for the first time be propagated in B cell cultures, with the help of enteric bacteria. You can find TWiV #312 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Alan Dove, and Gabriel Victora Vincent, Rich, Alan and Gabriel review the production of antibodies by B cells, and how high affinity antibodies are selected in the germinal centers of lymph nodes. Please help us by taking our listener survey. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV161.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download …
The immune response to viral infection comprises innate and adaptive defenses. The innate response, which we have discussed previously, functions continuously in a normal host without exposure to any virus. Most viral infections are controlled by the innate immune system. However, if viral replication outpaces innate defenses, the adaptive response must be mobilized. The adaptive …
