The multi-faceted role of the IgG glycan

Immunology Interest Group Seminar Series Beyond their role in pathogen neutralization, antibodies mediate pathogen control and clearance via the recruitment of innate immune effector functions including phagocytosis and cytotoxicity but also via the homeostatic regulation of the immune activation. Two modifications to the constant domain of the IgG antibody control this biological activity: 1) the irreversible genomic selection of isotype/subclass and 2) a more subtle alteration in Fc-glycosylation, that together provide instructions to the innate immune system . Because glycosylation alters the affinity of antibodies for Fc-receptors on innate immune cells, mounting evidence suggests that glycosylation may be actively exploited by the immune system to tune antibody biological activity far beyond pathogen control and clearance. While many monoclonal therapeutics have exploited glycosylation, its in vivo control and whether it may be selectively harnessed to target pathogens and/or tumors is unknown. Two distinct functional roles of antibodies will be discussed in this presentation including the role of antibodies the regulation of the induction of the fhumoral immune response as well as in the regulation of antibody transfer from mother to child. Galit Alter received her PhD in experimental medicine from McGill University, and is currently an Associate Professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Over the past 8 years her research has focused on understanding the role of ...
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