Marginal zone formation requires ACKR3 expression on B cells : a new paper by the Thelen Lab
The marginal zone (MZ) of the spleen contains a specialized set of innate-like B cells that are in direct contact with the blood. This study, published in Cell Reports, shows that expression of the atypical chemokine receptor 3 (ACKR3) defines two phenotypically, transcriptionally and functionally distinct, equal-sized populations of mouse MZ B cells (MZBs). The […]
Davide Robbiani takes office as new director of the IRB
The change at the helm of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB, affiliated to USI) has occurred at the end of July, with Prof. Antonio Lanzavecchia succeded by Prof. Davide Robbiani, who returns to Ticino after a brilliant career in the United States.1 The announcement was already made in June 2019, when the Foundation […]
New paper from the Grassi lab on Rejuvenating tumor-killing lymphocytes
Genetic alteration of an endogenous cell constitutes the initial trigger in tumor development. Prevention and chemotherapy have dramatically ameliorated the prognosis of many cancers. However, it has become clear that immunotherapeutic strategies can definitely contribute to the cure and possibly eradication of cancer. Within this therapeutic rationale, therapies with tumor specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) […]
A new computing tool developed by IRB researchers
Antibodies are vital proteins of the immune system that can virtually recognize all non-self-molecules and initiate an immune response to remove them. The study of antibody repertoires evolution is critical to understand how an organism can generate specific antibodies after antigen exposure. Phylogeny analysis of antibody repertoire allows the discovery of key mutations that transform […]
Deciphering and predicting CD4+ T cell immunodominance of influenza virus hemagglutinin
A recent publication in Journal of Experimental Medicine by the Sallusto group explored the nature of the human CD4+ T cell immunodominance to influenza H1 hemagglutinin and demonstrate that the naïve repertoire is very broad, while the memory repertoire becomes selected toward peptides with a high likelihood to be processed and presented by dendritic cells. […]
New paper from the Geiger lab
Nearly 200 billion naïve T cells continuously patrol the human body in a quiescent state, prepared to respond to potential threats. Consequently, they may remain inactive for several years in a spore-like state and thus consume little nutrients and energy. However, if they encounter an antigen from a pathogen or a malignant cell, naïve T […]
New paper from Molinari’s Lab: Deep Learning to monitor Lysosomal activity
Lysosomes clear from cells damaged organelles and macromolecules thus giving substantial contribution to tissues and organs homeostasis. Cumulating knowledge expands the number of rare lysosomal storage disorders directly and indirectly linked to lysosomal dysfunction. Lysosomes have for long time been considered static organelles ensuring degradation and recycling of cellular wastes. However, they are all but […]
The IRB at the forefront of the COVID serological tests in Ticino – first results
The Institute for Biomedicine Research (IRB, affiliated to the USI) and Humabs BioMed (a subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology) joint their forces and expertise to test in the blood of healthcare professionals, who are at the front line of the COVID-19 outbreak response, the presence of antibodies against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This study, launched on April […]
Ilaria Fregno awarded ETH Medal for her outstanding PhD Thesis
Ilaria Fregno, a member of the Protein Folding and Quality Control laboratory headed by Prof. Maurizio Molinari at the IRB in Bellinzona, has been honored with the ETH Medal in recognition of her Outstanding Doctoral Thesis entitled “Anabolic and catabolic control of endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis”. The prestigious ETH medal is awarded to less than 8% […]
New paper from Cejka’s Lab
CtIP has emerged as one of the main factors that drives the processing of broken DNA into the homologous recombination pathway. CtIP achieves that by stimulating the activity of two nucleases (MRE11 and DNA2), which resect DNA end creating single-strand DNA overhangs required for the downstream steps in the recombination pathway. Cell lacking CtIP consequently […]
