Pavel Tolar

Professor of B Cell Immunology

Research area

B Cell Immunology.

Research programme

• Immune regulation

Research summary

B cells are white blood cells that roam the body ready to react if they brush up against something harmful. They make antibodies that protect our bodies from viral or bacterial infection. When a B cell spots a pathogen, it is triggered to multiply in order to produce enough antibodies to render the invader harmless. However, B cells can also overreact and cause autoimmune disease, allergy or lymphoma.

The Tolar Lab study all aspects of B cell triggering, which is the process by which B cells recognise invaders, using a range of approaches, such as immunology, genetics, whole-genome CRISPR screening, imaging, biophysics and nanotechnology, to provide an understanding of the molecular processes by which B cells bind foreign materials and mediate immune protection. Ideas from these studies inform the development of next-generation vaccines.

The Tolar Lab also investigate the genes and pathways involved in human B cell diseases to discover targets to eliminate diseased B cells such as in allergy and lymphoma.

Publications

Selected publications

• Newman R, Tolar P. Chronic calcium signaling in IgE+ B cells limits plasma cell differentiation and survival. Immunity. In press
• Malinova D, Wasim L, Newman R, Martínez-Riaño A, Engels N, Tolar P. Endophilin A2 regulates B-cell endocytosis and is required for germinal center and humoral responses. EMBO Rep. 2021; 22(9):e51328
• Roper SI, Wasim L, Malinova D, Way M, Cox S, Tolar P. B cells extract antigens at Arp2/3-generated actin foci interspersed with linear filaments. Elife. 2019; 8:e48093
• Kwak K, Quizon N, Sohn H, Saniee A, Manzella-Lapeira J, Holla P, Brzostowski J, Lu J, Xie H, Xu C, Spillane KM, Tolar P, Pierce SK. Intrinsic properties of human germinal center B cells set antigen affinity thresholds. Sci Immunol. 2018; 3(29):eaau6598
• Spillane KM, Tolar P. B cell antigen extraction is regulated by physical properties of antigen-presenting cells. J Cell Biol. 2017; 216, 217–230
• Nowosad CR, Spillane KM, Tolar P. Germinal center B cells recognize antigen through a specialized immune synapse architecture. Nat Immunol. 2016; 17, 870–877
• Natkanski E, Lee WY, Mistry B, Casal A, Molloy JE, Tolar P. B cells use mechanical energy to discriminate antigen affinities. Science. 2013; 340, 1587–1590.

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