The role of autoantibody diversity in physiological homeostasis during aging (B05)

• Subject Area: Immunology ; Biogerontology and Geriatric Medicine
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 450627322

The first immunoglobulin (Ig) produced by B cells is IgM, which is initially expressed as membrane-associated receptor regulating B cell function before being secreted as IgM antibody. The majority of IgM is natural IgM (nIgM) which recognizes multiple structures belonging to self or non-self. This multi-reactivity enables a broad inactivation of pathogens or neutralization of altered self-structures such as oxidized lipids or degraded proteins. Recently, we showed that high-affinity autoreactive IgM, in contrast to nIgM, protects cognate antigen. We refer to that as adaptive tolerance and aim at investigating its role in aging.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1506: Aging at Interfaces
• Applicant Institution: Universität Ulm
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Hassan Jumaa