This November #TopRead from Wei Luo and Shlomchik Lab demonstrated that PTEN deficiency selectively expanded germinal center B cells in Peyer’s patches but had no impact on those induced by immunization, revealing an unknown role for PTEN. Read more: ow.ly/Ia9k50XAbiP.
A Human model of wound healing is accidentally generated 😢
It has been an honor to work with such a fantastic team on this project. Special thanks to Dr. Mark Shlomchik, my longtime mentor (and now a collaborator). This is the very first first-author paper for my PhD student, Alex Maldeney, who worked closely with Dr. Wenxia Jiang throughout this work.
Actually 8 years ago, forgot it is 2025
Deeply grateful to all the amazing co-authors and trainees who contributed. This was truly a team effort — your hard work made this possible.
I initiated this project~5 years ago when I was a postdoc in Dr. Mark Shlomchik’s lab. It’s amazing to bring it full circle — now collaborating as co-corresponding authors after starting my own lab. Very grateful for Dr. Shlomchik’s continued support throughout this journey.
In GC B cells, high BCL6 expression alters the regulatory hierarchy: BLIMP1 acts upstream, controlling IRF4 expression indirectly through BCL6. This contrasts with naive B cells, where IRF4 functions more upstream of BLIMP1.
Combined signals, such as BCR/CD40 or IL-21R/CD40, can induce BLIMP1 in GC B cells. BLIMP1 limits GC B cell expansion and promotes effector differentiation — not just for plasma cell differentiation but also memory B cell differentiation from GC. A broader role than previously appreciated.
Thrilled to share that our manuscript is now published in Cell Reports! Our findings support a model in which BLIMP1 intrinsically regulates GC B cell fate through transcriptional control.
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
BLIMP1 controls GC B cell expansion and exit through regulating cell cycle progression and key transcription factors BCL6 and IRF4 @cp-cellreports.bsky.social @luoweicool.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Congratulations!
Congratulations, Mark!
If any of this seems normal, you need to open your eyes.
profkap.substack.com/p/never-norm...
Omalizumab treats multi-food allergy better than oral immunotherapy
High rate of oral immunotherapy side effects in NIH trial explains superiority of omalizumab
www.jacionline.org/article/S009...
Asparagine drives immune evasion in bladder cancer via RIG-I stability and type I IFN signaling @jclinical-invest.bsky.social
www.jci.org/articles/vie...
Illustration of a toddler crawling.
#Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children globally.
In 2023, an estimated 107 500 people died from measles, mostly children under age 5.
bit.ly/48SAtkf
😭 I am so sorry for the POs. They are always very nice to me.
Ibex update!
Our single-cell BCR deep learning package just got a major overhaul!
✅ Now supports CDR3 & full CDR1/2/3 embeddings
✅ Human & mouse models available
✅ Trained on 2–10M unique sequences for high accuracy
Check it out! github.com/BorchLab/Ibex
Review @sciimmunology.bsky.social @tianyangmao.bsky.social
Linking vaccine adjuvant mechanisms of action to function
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
🚨 RFK Jr. Confirmed as HHS Secretary 🚨
We knew this was coming, but let’s be clear—we’re not backing down. LFV is ready to fight back against policies that threaten vaccine access, funding, & public health protections.
This is just the beginning. Now, more than ever, we need YOU.
1/2
😭😭😭😭
Since RFK Jr just got confirmed today, I am taking this chance to share this wonderful @sciam.bsky.social piece on
The Staggering Success of Vaccines
www.scientificamerican.com/article/see-...
Too bad I just submitted one grant with "vaccine" in the title 😂
RFK Jr sought to block the vaccine & wanted a lot of you & your families to un-alive from COVID. Pass it on. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/h...
This man is a profound danger. Every American should oppose his nomination.
Just saw this. Actually, still do not know it is CD4 or CD8, or both (easy to figure out but has not done). I guess strong signal/B-T interaction (or B cell derived cytokine?) may convert CD4 from helper to killer too, not necessarily within GC (Cg1 is not a super GC-specific Cre).
I've seen a child with tetanus, I've treated near fatal infections after chicken pox, and I've pronounced children dead from COVID whose parents refused to have them vaccinated.
We have lost our minds... and are about to lose so many of our precious children.
Holy hell. RFK Jr’s team has been gunning to pull the polio vaccine. He really is trying to #MakeIronLungsGreatAgain.
Gift 🎁 link: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/h...
B CELL FUN FACT: Secrets of the GC #2
There are 300 billion B cells with total mass of 60g in the human body. That is 3 times the number of stars in the Milky Way! Naïve B cell express >10 million unique antibodies to protect us from this universe of possible antigens!
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
