Mohammad Zafari

TL;DR: BAFF-R appears to be the principal receptor for BAFF-mediated mature B cell survival and is disrupted in A/WySnJ mice, which display a B cell phenotype qualitatively similar to that of the BAff-deficient mice.

TL;DR: A soluble form of BCMA, which inhibited the binding of BAFF to a B cell line, induced a dramatic decrease in the number of peripheral B cells when administered in vivo, consistent with a role for BAFF in maintaining homeostasis of the B cell population.

TL;DR: The delineation of a biological signaling event mediated by the LT-beta- R opens a window for further studies on its immunological role, and furthermore, activation of theLT- beta-R may have an application in tumor therapy.

TL;DR: A battery of anti-LT-alpha and LT-beta mAbs are used and it is clear that two LT surface forms exist on the surface of PMA-activated II-23 cells, a human T cell hybridoma, and this complex is the primary ligand for the LT- beta receptor.

TL;DR: It is reported, for the first time to the authors' knowledge, that Cripto can directly bind to another TGF-beta ligand, Activin B, and thatCripto overexpression blocks ActivinB growth inhibition of breast cancer cells, suggesting a novel mechanism for antagonizing Activin signaling that could promote tumorigenesis by deregulating growth homeostasis.