Title & Institution: 

Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Cheng Kung University

Email: gperng@mail.ncku.edu.tw

Topic in NCKU Research Week: Antibody secreting cells in dengue virus infection

Abstract:
Antibody producing by B cells is important in defending pathogens. But people who are previous infected by dengue virus can be experienced re-infection. We found that the naïve and resting memory B cells were decreased, while increased in tissue-like memory in NS1+ BM compared to NS1- BM. The most affected populations were antibody secreted cells, especially the plasma cells, which were significantly decreased in NS1+ BM, resulting in the loss of IgG+IgM- and IgG+IgM+ populations. The results could pave a new avenue to fine-tuning the current dengue vaccine.

Personal Profile:
The theme of research is to understand the pathogenic causes of disease development during viral infections. The main focus is on the role of stem and progenitor cells in development of mosquito-borne viral diseases as well as the fate of these cells after encountering the virus. Dissecting the dynamic interactions between viruses and susceptible stem and progenitor cells or host factors is the methodological approach to achieve the goal.

Website link to personal research profile: https://researchoutput.ncku.edu.tw/en/persons/guey-chuen-perng