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
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
29/10/2025
ESPN said it will produce animated telecasts for NFL, NHL, NBA and WNBA games across The Walt Disney Co. and ESPN platforms during the 2025-26 season under an a...
29/10/2025
WASHINGTON Despite the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission has passed, with some revisions, a previously announced Notice of Proposed Rul...
29/10/2025
29 10 2025 - Media release SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce 2025 Digital Originals Shortlist
The 2025 Digital Originals shortlisted teams. Photo credit...
28/10/2025
ESPN Announces Monsters Funday Football', Its Latest Real-Time Animated Bro...
28/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Catherine Chalfant, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe Ole Miss alum is an operational force behind ESPN's extensive college-football catalo...
28/10/2025
Elevating the experience: AI and data take Ryder Cup to the next level By Joe OHalloran
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 10:25
Print This Story
NBC produced th...
28/10/2025
Conquering the Air (waves): Taking a close up look at the IBC Accelerator Priva...
28/10/2025
World Series 2025: Spectrum SportsNet LA Brings Dodgers Fans Closer to the Actio...
28/10/2025
Dylan Southern and Benedict Cumberbatch at the premiere of The Thing with Feathers (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
28/10/2025
For three weeks in Lagos, Spotify's Greasy Tunes Caf pop-up brought the cit...
28/10/2025
Once a niche subculture, German rap has evolved into an influential cultural movement. Now, Spotify is giving the genre a new home with OFFCULT, a playlist dedi...
28/10/2025
Shane Delia's Malta serves up the Mediterranean this summer
28 October, 2025
Media releases
Feast on 9,000 years of culinary history Mondays from 24 No...
28/10/2025
SBS's global sporting festival continues with the FIVB Beach Volleyball Worl...
28/10/2025
Bilbao, October 28, 2025 - AgileTV, a leading technology solutions company for t...
28/10/2025
Disney, NBCUniversal, FOX, Paramount Each Achieve Double-Digit Monthly Growth
...
28/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has announced an agreement to sell WRTV, its local ABC-affiliated station in Indianapolis, to Circle City Broadcasting for $...
28/10/2025
Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2025 Top Music...
28/10/2025
NEW YORK As AI usage continues to spike, a new study from IAB delves into an important aspect of how AI is transforming the advertising business with new data s...
28/10/2025
Charlie Jablonski, a broadcast tech pioneer who helped shape the modern era of Olympics television coverage, died Oct. 25 at his home in Lake George N.Y., the N...
28/10/2025
VIENNA, Austria Bitmovin has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insights into video playback. The so...
28/10/2025
LOS ANGELES LucidLink, the file streaming platform, has announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities at Adobe Max....
28/10/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced that it has joined the Ama...
28/10/2025
Lightware, an industry leader in connectivity and signal management solutions, has announced a major update to its Taurus
platform, which now delivers flawless...
28/10/2025
Following a successful mid-September International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Hiltron Communications will promote its full range of satellite communi...
28/10/2025
Open Broadcast Systems has chosen MC&S (Media Consulting & Services) as a reseller to help strengthen its presence in France.
With over twenty years of experi...
28/10/2025
Bitmovin, leading provider of video streaming solutions, has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insi...
28/10/2025
Ease Live, the leader in interactive TV technology, today announced the successful launch of interactive graphical overlays for UEFA Champions League matches fo...
28/10/2025
LucidLink, the file streaming platform, today at Adobe MAX announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities, streamlining collaboration and hel...
28/10/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has promoted Nick Hasenecz to general manager of WNDU, its NBC affiliate in the South Bend-Elkhart, Ind., market....
28/10/2025
Applications Open for Berklee Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant Boston nonprofits can apply by December 12 for funding to support community projects that ...
28/10/2025
Governments everywhere are racing to harness the power of AI - but legacy infras...
28/10/2025
AI is moving from the digital world into the physical one. Across factory floors...
28/10/2025
NVIDIA is delivering the telecom industry a major boost in open-source software for building AI-native 5G and 6G networks.
NVIDIA Aerial software will soon be ...
28/10/2025
The race to bottle a star now runs on AI.
NVIDIA, General Atomics and a team of international partners have built a high-fidelity, AI-enabled digital twin for ...
28/10/2025
Along the Pacific Ocean in Monterey, California, the Naval Postgraduate School (...
28/10/2025
To democratize access to AI technology nationwide, AI education and deployment c...
28/10/2025
Leading technology companies in aerospace and automotive are accelerating their ...
28/10/2025
28 Oct 2025
VEON's JazzCash Wins Silver Award for Innovation in Lending at ...
28/10/2025
Guests include Wayne Rooney, Maya Jama, Dame Laura Kenny, Chloe Kelly, Chris McC...
28/10/2025
The two-hour special, recorded live from the iconic Dolby Theatre in LA, will ai...
28/10/2025
Eutelsat upgrades teleports with Rohde & Schwarz satellite uplink amplifiers High efficiency and resilient Ku-band amplifiers for excellent RF performance
...
28/10/2025
These appointments come at a pivotal time for ABC, as the organisation continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of a digital-first media ecosystem. The ne...
28/10/2025
Scripps Research awarded $4 million to advance platform for neurodevelopmental disorders The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) grant support...
27/10/2025
You can touch this: Haptics becoming central to the virtual live experience By Adrian Pennington
Friday, October 24, 2025 - 09:12
Print This Story
The vid...
27/10/2025
A tale of two trailers: France's Stop & Go doubles up with its new hybrid tr...
27/10/2025
Pro Padel League Stages City's Cup Finals Inside NYC's Hammerstein Ballr...
27/10/2025
World Series 2025: Sportsnet Delivers Made-in-Canada' Moment for a Nation U...
27/10/2025
ESPN Extends Partnership With Sony's Beyond Sports To Expand Animated Altern...
New TSRI Study Shows How Immune Cells Hone Their Skills to Fight Disease Findings Are a Step Toward Longer-Lasting Vaccines
