Marginal zone (MZ) B cells, together with other strategically located innate cells, constitute
the first line of defense against blood-borne microorganisms, viruses and toxins in the …

C3d is the final degradation product of the third component of complement (C3). When
conjugated to an antigen, C3d enhances immune responses to the fused antigen. Therefore …

The secreted Staphylococcus aureus extracellular fibrinogen-binding protein (Efb) is a
virulence factor that binds to both the complement component C3b and fibrinogen. Our …

Innate immunity depends upon recognition of surface features common to broad groups of
pathogens. The glucose polymer β-glucan has been implicated in fungal immune …

Dengue results in substantial human morbidity and significant socio-economic impacts, but
a specific dengue therapeutic is not available. The currently available dengue vaccine has …

Complement is an essential innate immune mechanism that recognizes and eradicates
microbes and associated toxins. In addition, complement receptors (CD21 and CD35) on B …

Complement activation has long been associated with inflammation, primarily due to the
elaboration of the complement anaphylotoxins C5a and C3a. In this work, we demonstrate …

Plasmid-encoded toxin (Pet) is an autotransporter protein of the serine protease
autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae (SPATE) family, important in the pathogenicity of …

Cell-surface CD19 functions as a general rheostat for defining intrinsic and antigen receptor-
induced signaling thresholds critical for clonal expansion of the B cell pool and humoral …

Humoral immune responses to foreign and self-antigens must be tightly regulated to
facilitate protective immunity to pathogens while avoiding autoimmune responses. The …