Video of the week: Prof Fabienne Mackay on lupus control through B cell tweaking

"Lupus Fabienne Mackay" - These search terms will pull up our new video where Professor Fabienne Mackay explains her group's recent discovery on how to stop lupus without stopping the immune system by focussing on a specific receptor (called TACI) found on B cells - the 'soldiers' of the immune system.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1EmIuuhu9U

Breakthrough opens door to safer lupus drugs

Prof Fabienne Mackay's group. Lead research Dr Will Figgett
seated far left, Fabienne Mackay next to him. Pin Shie Quah,
another author on the paper, standing immediately behind
Fabienne.

A ground-breaking discovery by Monash University researchers could revolutionise treatments given to lupus sufferers, saving thousands of people each year from serious illness or death caused by secondary infections.

Lupus is a debilitating and widespread autoimmune disease that can attack any part of the body. It affects one in 1,000 Australians and 5 million people worldwide, and its victims are typically young women. Indigenous and Asian people suffer higher rates than other groups.

B cell control in the immune system: review article

B cell control mechanisms

Department of Immunology researchers have published an article reviewing the control of B cells by a group of proteins called TNF superfamily proteins. These proteins trigger necessary signals that activate or regulate the various protective functions of B cells in the immune system, and they are important to understand because B cell pathologies including some cancers or autoimmunity can occur when these functions are disrupted.

Body's 'safety procedure' could explain autoimmune disease

Immunology researchers have found an important safety mechanism in the immune system that may malfunction in people with autoimmune diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis, potentially paving the way for innovative treatments. Published in Immunity, 6 Sept 2013, the research, led by Head of the Monash Department of Immunology Professor Fabienne Mackay, describes for the first time how the body manages marginal zone (MZ) B cells, which form a general first line of attack against germs, but are potentially harmful.

• Monash story
• Journal reference
• Animation prepared by first author Dr Will Figgett;
• Video of Fabienne Mackay explaining the significance of the research;
• BAFF lab link.