Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Stephen Gauld, PhD Assistant Professor Pediatrics - Division of Allergy and Immunology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Medical College of Wisconsin Research Focus: B cell anergy, role of follicular helper T cells and regulatory T cells in the regulation of B cell anergy, genetic and viral control of autoantibody production in lupus. PhD: University of Glasgow (2001) Immunology

My research interests focus on B cell anergy, a major mechanism of B cell tolerance that prevents auto-reactive B cells from secreting autoantibodies.  Previous work in my laboratory has shown that B cell anergy is dependent on the presence of regulatory T cells.  My laboratory is currently working out the mechanisms by which regulatory T cells control B cell anergy.  One possible mechanism is that the absence of regulatory T cells promotes the expansion of a specific helper T cell population that directly interact with anergic B cells, promoting the loss of B cell anergy.  Interestingly, my laboratory has observed a similar mechanism in lupus-prone mice, as well as a model of virus-induced autoantibody production.  My laboratory is therefore defining whether defects in regulatory T cells are central to the loss of B cell anergy in these systems.
 

Fluorescent microscopy image showing differences in the structure of the red pulp of spleens from wild-type and regulatory T cell deficient mice (Foxp3-deficient mice).  The red areas represent the B cell follicles, while the green areas represent the T cell zones.

Recent Publications