The latest paper from our lab is out now in Nature Communications!

In “Double-negative B cells and DNASE1L3 colocalise with microbiota in gut-associated lymphoid tissue”, co-authored by myself and Lucia Montorsi along with our collaborators, we used a combination of spatial transcriptomics and multiplexed single-cell technologies to pinpoint the DN2 B cells, known to be enriched in the blood in patients with lupus, as being present in healthy gut. When in the gut, these DN2 B cells interact with dendritic cells co-expressing the lupus autoantigens DNASE1L3 and C1q, adjacent to bacteria.

The normal functions of DN2 B cells, DNASE1L3 and C1q in the gut are likely to relate to bacterial recognition, bacterial killing and disposal of bacterial debris including DNA. Failure of such a system could result in persistence of bacterial DNA that may stimulate an autoimmune response.

Read it here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48267-4