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Irene Wu
Yau
Graduate Student
iwu@sanfordburnham.org
Follicular
Dendritic Cells and B cell interaction
Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs)
are a part of the germinal center network of cells in secondary lymphoid
structures. These cells have extensive dendritic processes that interact with B
cells and abundant complement and Fc receptors that can retain immune complexes
for long periods of time (months, perhaps years). Studies have shown that FDCs
are involved in proper germinal center formation, B cell Ig class switch, and
affinity maturation. FDCs have been implicated in HIV pathogenesis and infective
prion protein replication. Due to its sparse population and difficult
isolation methods, FDCs have not been well-studied. My research is focused on
understanding FDC interactions with B cells and their role in B cell
homeostasis.
Education
2005 – Current, University of California, San Diego, Molecular Pathology
Graduate Program
2004, University of California, Los Angeles, B.S. in Molecular, Cell, and
Developmental Biology
Publications
Cato, M.H., I.W. Yau and R.C. Rickert. 2011.
Magnetic-based purification of "untouched" murine germinal center B cells for
ex- vivo manipulation and biochemical analysis. Nat. Protocols.
9;6(7):953-60. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2011.344.
Cato, M.H., S.K. Chintalapati, I.W. Yau, S.A. Omori
and R.C. Rickert. 2011. Cyclin D3 is selectively required for proliferative
expansion of germinal center B cells. Mol. Cell. Bio. 31(1):127-37.
Outside
Interests
Japanese, hiking, traveling, and reading. |
