Overview of the effect of TBK1 on activity of other genes and the formation of the germinal center (IMAGE)
Caption
Normal activity of the enzyme TBK1 in a type of white blood cells called B cells is essential for formation of long-term memory in the immune system. Researchers at UTokyo worked with healthy (Wildtype, top half of image) mice and mice genetically modified to lack TBK1 only in their B cells (TBK1-deficient, bottom half of image). When healthy mice were infected with the mosquito-borne parasite malaria, TBK1 reduces the activity of genes that block B cells’ development, allowing them to grow into mature memory B cells. The B cells of TBK1-deficient mice remain immature, meaning that if the mice survive their first malaria infection, their immune systems retain no long-term memory of the parasite and are extremely vulnerable to a repeated malaria infection.
Credit
Image by Michelle S. J. Lee, Creative Commons By Attribution No Derivatives, first published in Journal of Experimental Medicine https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
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