Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of immunoglobulin genes is currently viewed as a two step process initiated by the deamination of deoxycytidine (C) to deoxyuridine (U), catalysed by the activation induced deaminase (AID). Phase 1 mutations arise from DNA replication across the uracil residue or the abasic site, generated by the uracil-DNA glycosylase, ...
Meiotic crossover formation between homologous chromosomes (homologues) entails DNA double-strand break (DSB) formation, homology search using DSB ends, and synaptonemal-complex formation coupled with DSB repair. Meiotic progression must be prevented until DSB repair and homologue alignment are completed, to avoid the formation of aneuploid gametes...
We describe four children with a novel primary immunodeficiency consisting of specific natural-killer (NK) cell deficiency and susceptibility to viral diseases. One child developed an Epstein-Barr virus-driven lymphoproliferative disorder; two others developed severe respiratory illnesses of probable viral etiology. The four patients are related an...
Efficient T-cell adaptive immune response require a faultless coordination between migration of naive T-cells into secondary lymphoid organs and critical biological outcomes driven by antigen such as cell division and cell differentiation into effector and memory cells. Recent works have shown that the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway could...
High mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is a major endogenous danger signal that triggers inflammation and immunity during septic and aseptic stresses. HMGB1 recently emerged as a key soluble factor in the pathogenesis of various infectious diseases, but nothing is known of its behaviour during herpesvirus infection. We therefore investigated the...
Deinococcus radiodurans is a robust bacterium best known for its capacity to repair massive DNA damage efficiently and accurately. It is extremely resistant to many DNA-damaging agents, including ionizing radiation and UV radiation (100 to 295 nm), desiccation, and mitomycin C, which induce oxidative damage not only to DNA but also to all cellular ...
Published in Nucleic Acids Research
Published in Nature Genetics
Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD) is a rare primary immunodeficiency associated with clinical disease caused by weakly virulent mycobacterial species. Interferon gamma receptor 1 (IFN-gammaR1) deficiency is a genetic etiology of MSMD. We describe the clinical and genetic features of a 7-year-old Italian boy suffering from MSM...
Published in Molecular & Cellular Oncology
