Get a Grip

Like any good security guard, B cells need a firm grip to catch anything that might try to squirm away. They patrol the body hunting invaders and then locking on to mark them for destruction by other immune cells. Researchers keen to better explain how a particular protein, DGKζ, helps them get a grip on dangerous bacteria and viruses looked at what happens in mice without it. Their B cells showed reduced mechanical strength and were unable to cling on to unwanted invaders (shown being tested, with the B cell, centre, adhering to a bead coated with foreign substances, right). As a result, the mice produced fewer antibodies, the structures designed to fight off infections. Molecules like DGKζ are potential targets for treatments for autoimmune diseases and even cancer, and this explanation of how they impact B cell behaviour might help researchers get to grips with these conditions.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis

Writer

Ant was the web editor in the early days of BPoD, and has since worked with the UK’s top science organisations as a writer and multimedia producer. He now splits his time between freelance work and managing multimedia at The Lancet.

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• Image from work by Sara V. Merino-Cortés and colleagues, published on the cover of Science Signaling
• B Lymphocyte Dynamics, Department of Immunology and Oncology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB)-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Published in Science Signaling, April 2020