Immune tissue behaves as shapeshifting active living matter as it fights intruders. Using liquid-like multicellular B cell droplets, we show that cytokines control the physical state of immune tissue.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

youtu.be/QAk2ayoVF0M

#biophysics #immunology #activematter

5/5 I am excited to extend these insights to frame immune function as an emergent property of interacting, multicellular active matter.

Many thanks to Tom Ferrante, Don Ingber and his lab, Sloan Foundation's Matter-to-Life program, and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.

4.1/5

4/5 We discovered that the same cytokines driving B cell fate also modulate the material properties of BLOMBs. This suggests that cytokines control the physical state of immune tissue.

youtu.be/ItWdDz2i8io

3/5 To identify the biological 'control knobs' of immune tissue, we utilized CD40L-induced B cell aggregates as a model system. We demonstrated that these structures function as liquid droplets, terming them B-Lymphocyte Organized Multicellular Blobs (BLOMBs). youtu.be/QAk2ayoVF0M

2/5 Our computational model predicted that the efficiency of antibody evolution is governed by the tissue's physical state. This motivated our search for chemical signals capable of tuning this material property.

3/5: To search for these control knobs, we studied homotypic aggregates formed by primary human B cells stimulated with GC factor CD40L as a model. We showed they behave like liquid droplets and thus called them B Lymphocytes Organized as Multicellular Blo(m)bs (BLOMBs). youtu.be/QAk2ayoVF0M

Beautiful!!

Pretty!

Bonus: ran a quick color variation test — because it's always worth playing with presentation.
Color isn’t just style — it shapes what you see.

#MicroscopyCommunity #ScientificVisualization #Biophysics