Michelle S. J. Lee (IMS, Univ Tokyo), Cevayir Coban (IMS, Univ Tokyo/IFReC), and their research group identified an unexpected role of Tank-binding kinase-1 (TBK1) as a crucial B cell intrinsic factor for GC formation during infection and vaccination in mice.

Figure: Role of B cell intrinsic TBK1 for germinal center formation in lymphoid organs
Wild type mice (top of the figure) and B cell intrinsic TBK1-deficient mice (bottom of the figure) responded differently to vaccination and malaria infection due to distinct B cell fate decision. The horizontal axis represents the stages of germinal center B cell development.
The vertical axis represents the expression level of B cell signaling molecules. B cell receptor (BCR) and costimulatory receptor (CD40) engagement activates CD40-BCR signaling to initiate B cell activation. P stands for phosphorylation for TBK1 activation, GC stands for germinal center.

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Division of Malaria Immunology (IMS, Univ Tokyo)