#b-cells

#b-cells

The body's ability to fight infections successfully relies on the generation of millions of distinct antibodies every day. But what ensures that these antibodies target only foreign disease-causing agents and not the body's own tissues? Writing in Nature, Li et al. describe changes in antibody-encoding DNA sequences that ensure a diverse range of antibodies are generated while simultaneously preventing the formation of genes that encode self-reacting antibodies.

Many years ago, Dr. Stephen Hauser and his research team discovered how B cells were crucial to the damage caused by MS. They developed new treatments, including one medicine that is literally saving the life of someone I love dearly. (If you need hope here, read his amazing book.) I met Dr. Hauser a few days ago at a charity dinner in San Francisco, where he spoke about the breakthrough. I got to thank him for this miracle of science, while trying not to cry.