Memory B cell dynamics in the gut mucosa

Salmonellosis is one of the most common and widespread food-borne diseases worldwide. This disease, caused by the gram-negative bacteria Salmonella, affects millions of people every year, leading to more than one hundred thousand deaths around the world. Currently, there is no licensed vaccine against Salmonella to face out this health issue. At present, most licensed human vaccines rely on the induction of long-lived memory lymphocytes. Memory B cells are a key part of this strategy, as they can rapidly differentiate into antibody-secreting cells and neutralize pathogens in case of future exposures. Despite their protective role, we have very limited knowledge on the dynamics of memory B cells in the context of gastrointestinal infection. GUT-MBC aims to unravel the developmental kinetics, spatial distribution and tissue diversity of memory B cells in the gastrointestinal tract upon Salmonella infection. To achieve this goal, I will take advantage of a transgenic mouse line to track memory B cells in vivo, gastrointestinal infection models, multiparametric flow cytometry, cutting edge imaging techniques and single-cell RNA-seq. Understanding how memory B cells are generated and maintained in the gut mucosa and associated lymphoid tissues upon infection is critical for the future design of protective vaccines against Salmonella and other emerging enteric pathogens.