A gene that controls the way antibodies gain their ability to fight retroviruses has been discovered by Edward Browne, an investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer research. Browne demonstrated that the TLR7 gene allows antibody building B cells to identify retrovirus presence and also promotes a germinal center reaction – the process by which antibodies gain their potency and strength.
The discoveries are published on October 6 in the Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens.
Toll-like receptor 7, also known as TLR7, is part of an ancient family of genes, ancestors of this gene can be discovered as far back as worms and insects. However, results from the study reveal that the immune system has taken over these genes to generate antibodies.
Antibodies play a crucial role in protecting a person’s body by fighting off many viruses that cause disease, however, sometimes this response can go terribly wrong, for example with the HIV virus.
Individuals with HIV generate large volumes of seemingly ineffective antibodies that do not have enough power to fight the virus. Why this happens and how to solve the problem, is one the largest tasks investigators in the HIV field face.
During the germinal center reaction, antibodies of those infected with HIV mutate and go through a selection process to allow only the strongest antibodies to dominate. Dr. Browne explains:
“These results identify TLR7 as an important gene that could be targeted to improve antibody responses in HIV patients. It’s possible that in HIV patients this process could be enhanced or accelerated to speed up the formation of high affinity broadly neutralizing antibodies”.
Written by Grace Rattue