Grant: Operating Grant

B cells are the antibody producing cells of the immune system and require "help" from other cells in order to generate a productive antibody response. This help classically comes from T cells, which must recognize peptides presented by the B cells. It has recently been found that another class of T cells exist called NKT cells that are innate-like T cells which, instead of recognizing peptides, recognize lipid antigens. We will explore how B cells can present lipid antigens to NKT cells and how this affects B cell function. We will follow up on our previous work which demonstrated the role of lipid transport molecule, apoE, and its receptor, LDL-R in lipid presentation. This lipid transport has not been explored in B cells, and we will determine the requirements for these molecules in allowing B cells to present lipids to NKT cells, a process which we call "innate help". The work will improve our understanding of how B cells function and allow us to enhance immune responses to vaccines or prevent autoimmune responses.