No less than 4 of CRIBL researchers have editorial contributions in the scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology :

• Yves Denizot joined the committee in charge of the topic B cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma & Tumor Microenvironment Crosstalk: An Epigenetic Matter?,
• Michel Cogné joined the committee in charge of the topic Germinal Centers in Lymphoid and Non-Lymphoid Tissues: Adaptive and Evolving Structures ,
• Christelle Vincent-Fabert joined the committee in charge of the topic Mouse Models of B Cell Malignancies,
• Sandrine le Noir joined the committee in charge of the topic vaccines and molecular therapeutics .

B cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma & Tumor Microenvironment Crosstalk: An Epigenetic Matter?

B cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (B-NHL) represents 90% of lymphoma cases. It is a heterogeneous group of lymphoid malignancies, arising from the mature B lymphocytes compartment. Most remain incurable and current regiment therapies are associated with variable outcomes, adverse effects, and frequent relapses. Consequently, innovative therapeutic options are needed to improve the treatment of patients with B-NHL. Besides the classical genomic changes, several epigenetic modifications that cause chromatin and DNA methylation alterations are described as important mechanisms of tumorigenesis in these types of cancers. B cells lymphoma undergo additional epigenetic changes to silence or activate genes; promoting oncogenesis, metastasis, angiogenesis, and resistance to therapy.

Germinal Centers in Lymphoid and Non-Lymphoid Tissues: Adaptive and Evolving Structures

Germinal centers (GCs) are ephemeral, multicellular organized structures that form in the secondary lymphoid organs in response to invading pathogen. Activated B-cells that participate in the establishment of this dynamic microenvironment leverage it to generate specific and high-affinity antibodies necessary to establish an effective humoral immune response. Two mechanisms specific to the GC B lymphocyte that target the B cell receptor (BCR) genes are mobilized to achieve this (i) Somatic hypermutation that induce high numbers of random point mutations in the variable region of the BCR and (ii) class switch recombination (CSR) which is a DNA rearrangement reaction allowing replacement of the constant region of the IgM heavy chain with one of the alternative isotype (IgG, IgA or IgE) in order to enhance the capability of antigen specific antibodies to effectively dispose of the pathogens. Of course, the differentiation of B cells into antibody secreting cells needs highly organized genetic and epigenetic modifications that sustain this cell metamorphosis.

Mouse Models of B Cell Malignancies

B cell malignancies represent a vast group of different entities arising from the multiple differentiation stages of B cells. In humans, there is a large variety of B cell malignancies, most of which have a counterpart in mice. Prognosis and treatment of these malignancies is largely dependent on their type, stage and grade. Genetically-modified mice bearing cancer-driving mutations of candidate genes (prooncogenes and tumor supressors) implicated in B cell tumorigenesis or mimicking the alterations in their expression are essential tools to demonstrate the role of these genes in cancer. In addition, studying the development of B cell malignancies by genetically-modified mice has allowed to uncover neoplastic functions of a variety of genes, unveiling new targets for therapy. Therefore, these mouse models have become valuable tools as preclinical platforms for testing new therapies.

vaccines-and-molecular-therapeutics

Vaccines and molecular therapeutics have evolved considerably over the last few decades, with some outstanding successes but also with many disappointing results. The challenges posed by complex and evolving pathogens, and poorly understood host-pathogen interactions; the failure for many pathogens of traditional vaccine approaches; the speed of dissemination and transmission of existing and emerging pathogens; the need for rapid vaccine development, evaluation and approval in outbreak situations; the increasing threshold for vaccines safety; the potential offered by high dimensional omic-based technoliges; and the explosion of science around the discovery and application of small molecules in a therapeutic setting; have revolutionized the field of prophyactic or therapeutic vaccination and small molecule therapies. The goal of Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics is to present technological and conceptual advances, and challenge dogma, in all fundamental and translational aspects of vaccines and molecular therapeutics.