Mechanisms controlling antibody production by modulating B cell antigen receptor signalling

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/366771

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

This project will analyse mechanisms that regulate antibody production in health and disease. In health, antibodies are normally made exclusively against infectious agents, providing long-lasting immunity. Unknown errors in the control of antibody production result in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, where antibodies are made against parts of our own bodies, or result in allergies where antibodies are made against innocuous elements of our environment, or result in uncontrolled B cell accumulation in lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma. In order to develop rational, specific methods for treating these diseases, it is necessary to identify and understand the biochemical mechanisms that normally control antibody formation against infectious agents, self components, and innocuous environmental agents. The project focuses on defining the biochemical mechanisms by which the antibody-forming cells, B lymphocytes, sense infectious, innocuous, or self components. These cells carry specific receptors that bind these components and transmit signals into the B lymphocyte. The research will determine how different types of signal are transmitted by the receptor so that, normally, large amounts of antibody are made against infectious agents but very little antibody is made against self components, and that B cell accumulation is tightly limited. By identifying how the types of signals are changed, the results of this project will reveal control mechanisms that may be altered in autoimmunity, allergy, immune deficiency, or lymphoma, and that may be able to be used as drug targets to cure these diseases.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2006

End Date: 01-01-2008

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $536,628.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Humoural Immunology and Immunochemistry

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

B lymphocyte | allergy | autoimmmune disease | autoimmune diseases | cell surface receptor | humoral immunity to infection | immunization | immunodeficiency | immunologic tolerance | intracellular signal transduction

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