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- Lill Mårtensson-Bopp
Lill Mårtensson-Bopp
Professor
Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation ResearchAbout Lill Mårtensson-Bopp
Professor in Molecular medicine, Head of the Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research.
- MSc Pharmacy, University of Uppsala, Sweden
- PhD, University of Uppsala, Sweden
- Postdoc, Basel Institute for Immunology, Basel, Switzerland
- Assist Prof, Lund University, Sweden
- PI, The Babraham Institute (Cambridge), UK
Research
B cells in health and disease
B cells are central to the immune system, for instance in their role as antibody producing cells. Antibodies are found on the surface of B cells (BCR) and in blood. Antibodies protect by binding to unique structures on pathogens, which leads to the formation of immune complexes that are disposed off by the body. Each B cell synthesises a unique antibody due to a process in which antibody gene segments are randomly recombined. However, this can also lead to the synthesis of antibodies that recognise self, autoantibodies, one of the hallmarks of autoimmune disease, where immune complexes appear involved in organ damage and destruction. By contrast, immunodeficiency is characterised by a lack of antibodies and is associated with persistent infections. There are also B-lineage cancers, eg acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL). These diseases are complex, including gender, genetic and environmental factors.
Our aim is to better understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the development of disease. We focus on the pre-BCR and BCR, and the importance of these receptors at the checkpoints indicated in the Figure below (red arrows), during B cell development and differentiation in health and disease. Our research translational; our observations in mouse models are translated to healthy individuals and patients, and vice versa.
In the bone marrow, pro-B cells develop into pre-B cells that express a pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR) on the cell surface. As these cells leave the cell cycle, they develop into immature B (iB) cells that express a BCR, i.e. membrane bound antibody. iB cells leave the bone marrow and migrate via blood to peripheral lymphoid organs, e.g. spleen. Here, as transitional B (TrB) cells, they mature into naïve B cells. As such, they are ready to take part in immune responses provided their BCR bind cognate antigen. In the context of T cells and other immune cells, the B cells are activated and move into structures termed germinal centres. Here, the B cells undergo clonal expansion and the BCRs are diversified in order to increase their affinity for antigen. When the cells leave these structures, they differentiate into memory B cells (MBC) or antibody-secreting plasma cells. Our results suggest that dysfunctional checkpoints are involved in the development of autoimmune diseases and leukaemia.
Group Members
- Aranburu, Alaitz
- Camponeschi, Alessandro alessandro.camponeschi@rheuma.gu.se
- Chen, Dongfeng dongfeng.chen@gu.se
- Gerasimcik, Natalija natalija.gerasimcik@rheuma.gu.se
- Bergqvist, Linda
- Höök, Nina (Medical student)
- Grimsholm, Ola
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Correlation of Professional Antigen-Presenting Tbet+CD11c+ B Cells With Bone Destruction in Untreated Rheumatoid
Arthritis
Sarah McGrath, Kristoffer Grimstad, Katrin Thorarinsdottir, Kristina Forslind, Daniel Glinatsi, Monica Leu Agelii, Alaitz Aranburu, Timothy Sundell, Charlotte A Jonsson, Alessandro Camponeschi, Anna-Karin Hultgård Ekwall, Andreas Tilevik, Inger Gjertsson, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATOLOGY - 2024 -
Cartilage destruction in early rheumatoid arthritis patients correlates with CD21−/low double-negative B
cells
Katrin Thorarinsdottir, Sarah McGrath, Kristina Forslind, Monica Leu Agelii, Anna-Karin Hultgård Ekwall, Lennart T. H. Jacobsson, Anna Rudin, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Inger Gjertsson
Arthritis Research and Therapy - 2024 -
Infection with Neoehrlichia mikurensis promotes the development of malignant B- cell
lymphomas
Christine Wennerås, Alaitz Aranburu, Linda Wass, A. Grankvist, A. Staffas, A. Soboli, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, L. Fogelstrand, Catharina Lewerin
British Journal of Haematology - 2023 -
Single-cell RNA sequencing analyses: interference by the genes that encode the B-cell and T-cell
receptors
Timothy Sundell, Kristoffer Grimstad, Alessandro Camponeschi, A. Tilevik, Inger Gjertsson, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Briefings in Functional Genomics - 2023 -
Clonal relationships of memory B cell subsets in autoimmune
mice
Alaitz Aranburu, E. Engstrom, Natalija Gerasimcik, Samuel Alsén, Alessandro Camponeschi, Ulf Yrlid, Ola Grimsholm, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Frontiers in Immunology - 2023 -
A close-up on the expanding landscape of CD21(-)/low B cells in
humans
Inger Gjertsson, Sarah McGrath, Kristoffer Grimstad, Charlotte A Jonsson, Alessandro Camponeschi, Katrin Thorarinsdottir, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Clinical and Experimental Immunology - 2022 -
RAG1 co-expression signature identifies ETV6-RUNX1-like B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in
children
Dongfeng Chen, Alessandro Camponeschi, J. Nordlund, Y. Marincevic-Zuniga, J. Abrahamsson, G. Lönnerholm, Linda Fogelstrand, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Cancer Medicine - 2021 -
Moderate- to high intensity aerobic and resistance exercise reduces peripheral blood regulatory cell populations in older adults with rheumatoid
arthritis
Sofia E M Andersson, Elvira Lange, Daniel Kucharski, Sara Svedlund, Karin Önnheim, M. Bergquist, Elisabet Josefsson, J. M. Lord, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Kaisa Mannerkorpi, Inger Gjertsson
Immunity & Ageing - 2020 -
Linkage between endosomal escape of LNP-mRNA and loading into EVs for transport to other
cells
Maugeri Marco, Muhammad Nawaz, Alexandros Papadimitriou, Annelie Angerfors, Alessandro Camponeschi, Manli Na, Mikko Hölttä, Pia Skantze, Svante Johansson, Martina Sundqvist, Johnny Lindquist, Tomas Kjellman, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Tao Jin, Per Sunnerhagen, Sofia Östman, Lennart Lindfors, Hadi Valadi
Nature Communications - 2019 -
Switched CD21-/low B cells with an antigen-presenting phenotype in the infant
thymus.
Christina Lundqvist, Alessandro Camponeschi, Marcella Visentini, Esbjörn Telemo, Olov Ekwall, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology - 2019 -
Dissecting Integrin Expression and Function on Memory B Cells in Mice and Humans in
Autoimmunity.
Alessandro Camponeschi, Natalija Gerasimcik, Ying Wang, Timothy Fredriksson, Dongfeng Chen, Chiara Farroni, Katrin Thorarinsdottir, Louise Sjökvist Ottsjö, Alaitz Aranburu, Susanna Cardell, Rita Carsetti, Inger Gjertsson, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Ola Grimsholm
Frontiers in immunology - 2019 -
ERG Controls B Cell Development by Promoting Igh V-to-DJ
Recombination
E. Sondergaard, A. Rauch, M. Michaut, N. Rapin, M. Rehn, A. S. Wilhelmson, Alessandro Camponeschi, M. S. Hasemann, F. O. Bagger, J. Jendholm, K. J. Knudsen, S. Mandrup, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, B. T. Porse
Cell Reports - 2019 -
CD21(-/low) B cells associate with joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis
patients
Katrin Thorarinsdottir, Alessandro Camponeschi, Charlotte A Jonsson, Karin Önnheim, Jenny Nilsson, K. Forslind, M. Visentini, Lennart T. H. Jacobsson, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Inger Gjertsson
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology - 2019 -
CD99 expression is strongly associated with clinical outcome in children with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic
leukaemia
Dongfeng Chen, Alessandro Camponeschi, Qingqing Wu, Natalija Gerasimcik, Huiqi Li, Xue Shen, Yujie Tan, Helene Sjögren, Jessica Nordlund, Gudmar Lönnerholm, Jonas Abrahamsson, Linda Fogelstrand, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
British Journal of Haematology - 2019 -
Long-lived plasma cells in mice and
men
Siggeir Brynjolfsson, Linn Persson Berg, Teresa Ekerhult, Inga Rimkute, Mary Jo Wick, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Ola Grimsholm
Frontiers in Immunology - 2018 -
Testosterone is an endogenous regulator of BAFF and splenic B cell
number
Anna S K Wilhelmson, Marta Lantero Rodriguez, Alexandra Stubelius, Per Fogelstrand, Inger Johansson, M. B. Buechler, S. Lianoglou, V. N. Kapoor, Maria E Johansson, Johan Bourghardt Fagman, A. Duhlin, P. Tripathi, Alessandro Camponeschi, B. T. Porse, A. G. Rolink, Hans Nissbrandt, S. J. Turley, Hans Carlsten, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, M. C. I. Karlsson, Åsa Tivesten
Nature Communications - 2018 -
The Role of the Pre-B Cell Receptor in B Cell Development, Repertoire Selection, and
Tolerance
T. H. Winkler, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Frontiers in Immunology - 2018 -
Estrogen induces St6gal1 expression and increases IgG sialylation in mice and patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A potential explanation for the increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis in postmenopausal
women
Cecilia Engdahl, A. Bondt, U. Harre, J. Raufer, R. Pfeifle, Alessandro Camponeschi, M. Wuhrer, M. Seeling, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, F. Nimmerjahn, G. Krönke, H. U. Scherer, Helena Forsblad d'Elia, G. Schett
Arthritis Research and Therapy - 2018 -
Age-associated B cells expanded in autoimmune mice are memory cells sharing H-CDR3-selected
repertoires
Alaitz Aranburu, Nina Höök, Natalija Gerasimcik, Bjorn Corleis, Weicheng Ren, Alessandro Camponeschi, Hans Carlsten, Ola Grimsholm, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
European Journal of Immunology - 2018 -
CD27 expression and its association with clinical outcome in children and adults with pro-B acute lymphoblastic
leukemia.
Dongfeng Chen, Natalija Gerasimcik, Alessandro Camponeschi, Y Tan, Q Wu, Siggeir Fannar Brynjólfsson, Junxiong Zheng, Jonas Abrahamsson, J Nordlund, G Lönnerholm, Linda Fogelstrand, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Blood Cancer Journal - 2017 -
Gene Therapy Induces Antigen-Specific Tolerance in Experimental Collagen-Induced
Arthritis
Sara Tengvall, Tove Eneljung, Pernilla Jirholt, Olof Turesson, Kajsa Wing, R. Holmdahl, J. Kihlberg, Anna Stern, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Louise Henningsson, K. Gustafsson, Inger Gjertsson
Plos One - 2016 -
Collagen epitope expression on B cells is sufficient to confer tolerance to collagen-induced
arthritis.
Sofia E M Andersson, Tove Eneljung, Sara Tengvall, Pernilla Jirholt, Anna Stern, Louise Henningsson, Bibo Liang, Katrin Thorarinsdottir, Jan Kihlberg, Rikard Holmdahl, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Kenth Gustafsson, Inger Gjertsson
Arthritis research & therapy - 2016 -
The Expression Pattern of the Pre-B Cell Receptor Components Correlates with Cellular Stage and Clinical Outcome in Acute Lymphoblastic
Leukemia.
Dongfeng Chen, Junxiong Zheng, Natalija Gerasimcik, Kristina Lagerstedt, Helene Sjögren, Jonas Abrahamsson, Linda Fogelstrand, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
PloS one - 2016 -
Absence of surrogate light chain results in spontaneous autoreactive germinal centres expanding V(H)81X-expressing B
cells
Ola Grimsholm, Weicheng Ren, Angelina I Bernardi, Hai-Xia Chen, Giljun Park, Alessandro Camponeschi, Dongfeng Chen, Berglind Bergmann, Nina Höök, Sofia E M Andersson, Anneli Strömberg, Inger Gjertsson, Susanna Cardell, Ulf Yrlid, A. De Riva, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Nature Communications - 2015 -
Androgens regulate bone marrow B lymphopoiesis in male mice by targeting osteoblast-lineage
cells.
Anna S K Wilhelmson, Alexandra Stubelius, Anna E Börjesson, Jianyao Wu, Anna Stern, Stephen Malin, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Claes Ohlsson, Hans Carlsten, Åsa Tivesten
Endocrinology - 2015 -
CD21(-/low) B cells: A Snapshot of a Unique B Cell Subset in Health and
Disease
Brynja Kristin Thorarinsdottir, Alessandro Camponeschi, Inger Gjertsson, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology - 2015 -
Surrogate light chain is required for central and peripheral B-cell tolerance and inhibits anti-DNA antibody production by marginal zone B
cells
Weicheng Ren, Ola Grimsholm, Angelina I Bernardi, Nina Höök, Anna Stern, Nicola Cavallini, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
European Journal of Immunology - 2015 -
Memory B Cells in Mouse
Models
B. Bergmann, Ola Grimsholm, Brynja Kristin Thorarinsdottir, Weicheng Ren, Pernilla Jirholt, Inger Gjertsson, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology - 2013 -
Uncoupling of Natural IgE Production and CD23 Surface Expression
Levels
Weicheng Ren, Kristina Lagerstedt, Ola Grimsholm, Anna Stern, Jia-Bin Sun, Yu Fang, Zou Xiang, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Plos One - 2013 -
MiR-210 is induced by Oct-2, regulates B cells, and inhibits autoantibody
production.
Yingting Mok, Vera Schwierzeck, David C Thomas, Elena Vigorito, Tim F Rayner, Lorna B Jarvis, Haydn M Prosser, Allan Bradley, David R Withers, Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Lynn M Corcoran, Cherie Blenkiron, Eric A Miska, Paul A Lyons, Kenneth G C Smith
Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) - 2013 -
The Pre-B Cell Receptor; Selecting for or against
Autoreactivity
Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Nina Almqvist
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology - 2012 -
Autoantibodies: Focus on anti-DNA
antibodies
Nina Almqvist, thomas winkler, Inga-Lill Mårtensson
Self/Nonself - 2011 -
The pre-B cell receptor
checkpoint.
Inga-Lill Mårtensson, Nina Almqvist, Ola Grimsholm, Angelina I Bernardi
FEBS letters - 2010