Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Return to Form

Overactivity of epigenetic modifying protein BMI-1 found to underlie poor antibody responses to chronic viral infection

05 February 2022

Return to Form

A sudden attack can cause chaos and damage. But a long-fought battle of attrition can have even greater eventual consequences. When chronic infections set in, they can cause long term illness and a decline in health. Antibodies, which typically see off any infection, put up an uncharacteristically ineffective defence against the chronic menace, allowing the infection to establish itself firmly in place. This underperformance isn’t well understood, so researchers investigated a particular protein involved in regulating the immune system, BMI-1. They found that in mice with a chronic viral infection (spleen cells pictured 7 days post infection, different cell types highlighted in different colours) BMI-1 was over-active, which caused the immune system to produce weaker antibodies. Blocking the protein boosted antibodies’ power to clear away the virus and reduced the presence of other factors limiting their effectiveness (yellow). If effective in humans, this approach could help patients overcome stubborn infections, clearing the way for a healthy recovery.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.