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The transcription factor Blimp-1 is required for the differentiation of activated B cells into plasmablasts. Nutt and colleagues show that plasma cells need Blimp-1 to maintain antibody production by regulating the kinase mTOR and unfolded-protein-response pathways.
Blimp-1 is known to act as a transcriptional repressor by suppressing genes associated with mature and activated germinal center B cells. Busslinger and colleagues show that Blimp-1 can also directly activate gene expression in plasma cells, including those encoding proteins that regulate the production of membrane-bound immunoglobulin versus secreted immunoglobulin.
Inflammation can boost antigen-specific adaptive immune responses. Ziegler and colleagues show that type I interferon-mediated inflammation can also affect bystander naive CD4+ T cells by transiently increasing their expression of Foxp3, which might limit aggressive responses against self-antigens.
Vaccination offers protection against infectious diseases, yet pre-existing criteria that predict vaccine efficacy or adverse events remain unknown. Hayday and colleagues identify cellular and molecular signatures in humans immunized with adjuvanted swine flu vaccine.
CD4+ T cell tolerance can be enforced by various mechanisms. Jenkins and colleagues use mice with entirely intact polyclonal T cell repertoires to comprehensively define the mechanisms of self-tolerance.