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 ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
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...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
New TSRI Study Shows How Immune Cells Hone Their Skills to Fight Disease Findings Are a Step Toward Longer-Lasting Vaccines
