A UCSD researcher has developed a novel method of modulating the in vivo population of B lymphocytes using certain superantigens. The method has utility as a treatment for certain B cell lymphoproliferative and autoimmune disorders. Broad Application - B cell lymphoproliferative and autoimmune diseases. They are produced in the bone marrow and enter the blood stream upon maturation as naive B cells. When a naive B cell encounters an antigen recognized by its membrane-bound antibody, it begins to divide rapidly and its progeny differentiate into memory B cells and plasma cells.
Plasma cells secrete large quantities of antibodies which recognize and neutralize the antigen.
Though the immune response protects its host against foreign invaders, immune disorders exist and continue to cause suffering. In particular, certain B cell lymphoproliferative and autoimmune disorders, due to loss of B cell diversity, manifest themselves as suboptimal immune response or self-recognition, respectively. Substances which can modulate B cell diversity and thereby minimize the population of undesirable B cells have utility in the treatment of such disorders.