Entwicklung von B-Zellen und Produktion von Autoantikörpern in chronisch entzündlichen Darmerkrankungen

• Applicant: Dr. Julia Benckert
• Subject Area: Gastroenterology
• Term: from 2007 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 38787508

Antibodies are produced by mature B-cells in peripheral blood. It could recently be shown that a majority (55 to 75%) of all antibodies expressed by early immature B cells in bone marrow are self-reactive and that there are two distinct checkpoints in B cell development, where cells producing autoantibodies are deleted1. In Systemic Lupus Erythematodes, an autoimmune disease with high autoantibodies as a hallmark, these tolerance checkpoints are defective2. Aberrant immunologic and autoimmune responses are part of the complex etiology and pathogenesis of IBD. Cell mediated immunity has been in the focus of scientific research for years. Nevertheless also the humoral immunity seems to play an important role in pathogenesis with a high incidence of autoantibodies in patients with IBD3 correlating with disease progression4-8 and presence of autoantibody producing plasma cells in the affected bowel9-11. Adressing the role of autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of IBD the aim of this proposal is to characterize B cell development and tolerance and to define the frequency of autoantibody production in different stages of B cell maturation. It is furthermore planned to examine the role of memory cells and plasma cells in IBD, known to be implicated in long-term protection against pathogens but also in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. In a third step changes in B cell tolerance as well as autoantibody production of memory and plasma cells in patients in clinical remission will be examined.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• Host: Professorin Dr. Hedda Wardemann