Researchers identify novel immunological mechanism important for vaccine development

Researchers have discovered the presence of a novel subtype of innate lymphoid cells in human spleen essential for the production of antibodies. This discovery, published in the prestigious journal Nature Immunology, clears the path to the identification of novel strategies to develop more efficient vaccines against encapsulated bacteria, considered highly virulent. This work was done by the B cell Biology research group at IMIM (Institut Hospital del Mar d’Investigacions Mediques) in Barcelona, directed by Dr. Andrea Cerutti, ICREA research professor and leader in the field of B lymphocyte biology. Amongst the collaborators of the group are researchers from Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai in New York and Riken Research Center for Integrative Medicine in Japan. Innate lymphoid cells were recently described by the scientific community and represent the first line of immunological defence on our body surfaces, which are constantly exposed to bacteria, such as the intestine or skin. “For the...