B Cell Biology Lab

B cells are in charge of leading the humoral immune response thanks to the generation of a vast collection of antibodies that can specifically recognize pathogens and tag them for removal. The very same mechanisms responsible for antibody diversity have profound biomedical implications in health issues that include autoimmunity, immunodeficiencies and cancer. Our lab is focused in the study of the molecular and cellular events that take place in germinal centers, microstructures generated by B cells during immune responses. Our interests cover basic aspects of B cell biology, including the DNA remodelling associated with antibody diversification by the enzyme AID in germinal centers, the regulatory programs driven by microRNAs in germinal centers, and the generation of animal models relevant to explore the impact of these events on the etiology of disease, most notably in inflammation and cancer. Our work has resulted in the last years in the finding that microRNAs contribute to immune tolerance, and that individual microRNAs play critical roles in the regulation of germinal centers and can act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. In addition we have developed mouse models to study different regulatory aspects of AID activity in vivo. Finally, we are characterizing the functional contribution of antibodies and their diversification in atherogenesis.