Immune Regulation

Antonio Lanzavecchia, Group Leader

Martina Beltramello, Elisabetta Cameroni, Davide Corti, Anna De Marco, Blanca Maria Fernandez Rodriguez, Alexander Frühwirth, Roger Geiger, David Jarrossay, Anna Kabanova, Daniele Lilleri, Elisabetta Loggi, Matteo Mauri, Andrea Minola, Leontios Pappas, Luca Piccoli, Debora Pinna, Dora Pinto, Isabella Giacchetto - Sasselli, Chiara Silacci

In recent years our research has focused on three main themes. The first is the impact of innate immunity on the adaptive immune response, with special emphasis on the activation of dendritic cells and the production of polarizing cytokines. The second is the role of signal strength on T and B cell activation and the generation of effector and memory cells. The third is the development of high throughput culture methods to analyse the repertoires of human memory B cells and plasma cells and to isolate human monoclonal antibodies. We are currently applying these methods to study the organization and maintenance of human B cell memory, to investigate the mechanisms of protection versus pathology and to identify conserved epitopes in pathogens through the isolation of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. We are convinced that a systematic analysis of the human B and T cell response to human pathogens will have an impact on vaccine design and are therefore exploring an approach that we termed “analytic vaccinology”.

Projects

• A pan influenza A neutralizing antibody selected from cultures of single human plasma cells
• Analytic Vaccinology
• BCR expression and signalling in human plasma cells
• Characterization of mAb HK20 targeting the HR1 of HIV-1 gp41
• Fc-dependent phagocytosis and killing of P. falciparum by human monoclonal antibodies
• HCMV glycoprotein complexes in viral tropism and function
• Heterosubtypic neutralizing antibodies produced following seasonal influenza vaccination
• Human monoclonal antibodies that potently neutralize HCMV by targeting the gH/gL/UL128-131A complex
• Insights into the pathogenesis of pemphigus vulgaris from the analysis of autoantibodies
• Intracellular immunity against non-enveloped viruses
• Long-term culture of normal and malignant plasma cells
• Novel monoclonal antibodies with neutralizing breadth from HIV-1-infected individuals
• The analysis of newly generated plasma cells supports a dynamic model of serological memory
• The effect of antibodies on the immune response to influenza virus
• The human immune response to Dengue virus is dominated by highly cross-reactive antibodies endowed with neutralizing and enhancing activity