Currently, the mains targets in immunotherapy in clinical transplantation are T cells directed. However, the long term survival of the graft remain challenged by chronic rejection, in which B cells play a significant role, by secreting alloantibodies or by presenting antigen to CD4 T cells. For several years now, this vision has been enlarged, and we know that certain B cells are increasingly implicated as tolerogenic cells, in some process of auto-immune diseases or tolerance. Developing therapeutic strategies that could increase the numbers and the effects of these cells could represent a new key in transplantation and the outcome of graft survival. In this research topic, we propose to discuss different issues concerning B cells in transplantation focusing on B cell biology, B cell antibody production and differentiation and to particularly focus on new advances in regulatory B cells and their possible involvement in graft outcome.We will focus on molecules that have been shown to be involved at different levels of B cell regulation, such as CD5 and a particular attention will be played to discovery of new mechanisms of regulation such as miRNA. Finally, the development of new therapeutic strategies involving B cells will be debated.
Currently, the mains targets in immunotherapy in clinical transplantation are T cells directed. However, the long term survival of the graft remain challenged by chronic rejection, in which B cells play a significant role, by secreting alloantibodies or by presenting antigen to CD4 T cells. For several years now, this vision has been enlarged, and we know that certain B cells are increasingly implicated as tolerogenic cells, in some process of auto-immune diseases or tolerance. Developing therapeutic strategies that could increase the numbers and the effects of these cells could represent a new key in transplantation and the outcome of graft survival. In this research topic, we propose to discuss different issues concerning B cells in transplantation focusing on B cell biology, B cell antibody production and differentiation and to particularly focus on new advances in regulatory B cells and their possible involvement in graft outcome.We will focus on molecules that have been shown to be involved at different levels of B cell regulation, such as CD5 and a particular attention will be played to discovery of new mechanisms of regulation such as miRNA. Finally, the development of new therapeutic strategies involving B cells will be debated.