New TSRI Study Shows How Immune Cells Hone Their Skills to Fight Disease Findings Are a Step Toward Longer-Lasting Vaccines
LA JOLLA, CA February 2, 2015 The last time you were in the doctor's office for a vaccine booster shot, did you wonder why you needed one? Exactly how booster shots offer long-term protection from viruses has long been a mystery to scientists.
Now, a new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) helps explain how booster shots prompt immune memory to improve, an important step toward the development of more effective, longer-lasting vaccines. The findings were published online ahead of print on February 2 in the journal Nature Immunology.
We can now see the evolution of better protection in single memory cells as they respond to the boost, said TSRI Professor Michael McHeyzer-Williams, senior author of the new study.
How Immune Memory Functions
When a virus attacks the body, the immune system's B cells produce antibodies to bind to and disable the current invader. At the same time, a squadron of memory B cells heads to special areas of the lymph nodes. These memory B cells will be trained to recognize even tiny amounts of the virus if it ever attacks again.
Once memory B cells arrive in the germinal centers of the lymph nodes, they are cloned, and each clone receives a random mutation to its B cell receptor (a protein that interacts with viruses). Although some of the mutations are useless, others lead to even more effective antibodies.
Each mutated memory B cell is then tested against a part of the virus. If its antibodies pass the test and bind even better to the virus, the B cell will eventually be released into the body to patrol for invaders. Memory B cells can go through the same process to train against bacteria, fungi and other pathogens.
Scientists have long known that memory B cells produce more effective antibodies each time they encounter a virus that's why most vaccines require booster shots. But until now, scientists didn't know all the stages of training that take place in the lymph nodes.
You develop memory so that the next time you see it, you clear the infection more quickly, explained McHeyzer-Williams. But the cellular and molecular details of memory are not well understood.
Training Never Stops
In the new study, the researchers injected mouse models with a substance ( antigen ) to prompt an immune response. Using a technique called flow cytometry, they collected single memory B cells four and eight days after injecting an antigen boost.
After collecting about 700 individual memory B cells from germinal centers, the team directly associated the proteins expressed, sequenced the genes from the individual B cell receptors and measured 96 other genes from each single memory B cell. This approach provides a more complete picture of memory B cell evolution than previously possible.
The researchers demonstrated a wide range of mutations in responding memory B cells, showing that the body was trying out many different survival strategies it was evolution on a cellular scale. A diverse immune response may be advantageous because viruses and other pathogens are also continually evolving, explained McHeyzer-Williams.
The scientists also found that cells were undergoing different parts of the training process in an ordered progression of gene expression, showing new features of the training programing and how antibodies evolve after vaccine boosts.
The training is actually ongoing; they keep on training and keep getting better at their task, said TSRI Senior Scientific Associate Louise McHeyzer-Williams, who was co-first author of the paper with Pierre Milpied, a TSRI research associate at the time of the study.
With these new findings, the researchers think booster shots could be better designed to manipulate the memory system. What you add to the boost makes a difference to the balance of cells and the rate of mutation, said Michael McHeyzer-Williams.
In addition to Michael and Louise McHeyzer-Williams and Milpied, the other author of the study Switched-memory B cells remodel B cell receptors within secondary germinal centers (DOI: 10.1038/ni.3095), was Shinji L. Okitsu of TSRI at the time of the study.
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (AI047231, AI040215 and AI071182), the Foundation Bettencourt-Schueller, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Novartis Jubliaeumsstiftung and the Roche Research Foundation.
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the worlds largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs about 2,700 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists including two Nobel laureates work toward their next discoveries. The institutes graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. For more information, see www.scripps.edu.
# # #
For information:
Office of Communications
Tel: 858-784-2666
Fax: 858-784-8136
press@scripps.edu
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
New TSRI Study Shows How Immune Cells Hone Their Skills to Fight Disease Findings Are a Step Toward Longer-Lasting Vaccines
