 | Jan Cerny,
M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Past Chair
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
School of Medicine
410-706-7114
jcerny@som.umaryland.edu
|
ResearchOur laboratory has been studying the mechanisms that regulate the magnitude and the molecular repertoire of the antibody response and the differentiation of B cells towards immunological memory. Current focus is on the role of bone marrow which is a major homing site for effector B cells and for a functionally specialized subset of memory/effector T helper cells. We also examine the effects of aging on antibody repertoire. Our studies have shown that the antibody molecules produced by aged animals are encoded by different V genes, that lack somatic mutations and fail to protect the host against infection. This is, in part, due to functional changes in aging helper T cells. Moreover, the aging B cells respond differently to co-stimulatory signals that may proceed through alternative biochemical pathways.
PublicationsZhu, H., K. Liu, J. Cerny, T. Imoto and K. Moudgil. 2005. Insertion of the Dibasic Motif in the Flanking Region of a Cyrptic Self-Determinant Leads to Activation of the Epitope-Specific T Cells. The Journal of Immunology, 175: 2252-2260.
Song, H., and J. Cerny 2003. Functional Heterogeneity of Marginal Zone B Cells Revealed by Their Ability to Generate Both Early Antibody-forming Cells and Germinal Centers with Hypermutation and Memory in Response to a T-dependent Antigen. J. Exp. Med., Vol. 198, No. 12:1923-1935.
Lu, Y-F and J. Cerny. Repertoire of antibody response in bone marrow and the memory response are differentially affected in aging mice. J. Immunol. 169:4920-4927, 2002.
Lu, Y.-.F., M. Singh and J. Cerny. Canonical germinal center B cells may not dominate the memory response to antigenic challenge. Int. Immunology 13(5), 643-655, 2001 Back to All Faculty |