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Immunity and Autoimmunity

Freiburg Biologists and Doctors Are Participating in a New Collaborative Research Center on B Cells

 Immunity and Autoimmunity

B cells belong to the white blood cells and are the only type of cell that can form antibodies. Photo: Ina Stumpf

The goal of the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio “B Cells: Immunity and Autoimmunity” (SFG/TRR 130), newly approved for funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG), is to determine why the immune system turns against the body in the case of several diseases and develop approaches for therapy. The project will initially receive funding for just under four years starting on 1 October 2013. The host institution of the project is the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. Director of the project in Freiburg is the immune biologist Prof. Dr. Michael Reth, who also serves as director of the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies of the University of Freiburg. Also contributing to the SFB/TRR 130 are the University of Göttingen, the German Rheumatism Research Center, the Max Planck Institute of Infection Biology, and the Charité Medical Center in Berlin. According to the DFG, collaborative research centers receive an average of approximately 2.4 million euros per year.

B cells are a vital component of the immune system. They belong to the white blood cells and are the only type of cell that can form antibodies. They therefore play a key role for the success of vaccinations. However, they are also the cause of numerous diseases based on autoimmune responses – such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, or allergies. In the case of these diseases, the immune system turns against the body it is supposed to protect. Research at the SFB/TRR 130 will focus on B cell activation, the antibody responses to foreign substances caused by B cells, and their failure to function in the case of autoimmune diseases. The project thus aims to contribute to our fundamental understanding of autoimmune diseases. Ideally, these findings will lead to better strategies for vaccination protocols and therapies. 

The scientists in Freiburg will contribute their expertise in clinical immunology, signaling research, and proteomics to the SFB/TRR. New methods in proteome research will enable them for the first time to compare the proteins of healthy and autoimmune B cells involved in cellular processes. “The success of this proposal shows that the investments we have made in the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS over the past years are now paying off for further research in Freiburg,” says Michael Reth. The project partners in Freiburg include the Institute of Biology III and the Cluster of Excellence BIOSS at the University of Freiburg, the Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency and the Department of Rheumatology at the Freiburg University Medical Center, and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics.


Contact:
Prof. Dr. Michael Reth
Institute of Biology III / BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies
University of Freiburg and Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics
Phone: +49 (0)761 / 203-97663
E-Mail: michael.reth@bioss.uni-freiburg.de
 


Click here for a printable version (pdf) of the press release.

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