Associate Professor Lynn Corcoran
Details
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Division: Molecular Immunology
Research Overview
B lymphocytes are the ultimate effector cells of the humoural arm of the adaptive immune system, and the source of antibody. After their generation in the bone marrow, B lymphocytes emigrate to populate the periphery with mature cells specialised to respond to different classes of pathogens. We study the differentiation of B lymphocytes, and the roles played by important transcriptional regulators in this process. Two of the factors we focus on are B cell restricted proteins that interact through a conserved octamer DNA binding motif. They are the transcriptional regulators Oct-2 and OBF-1.
Research Interests
- Molecular regulation of B lymphocyte activation, specialisation and terminal differentiation of antibody secreting plasma cells
- B cell-specific transcription factors,in particular Oct-2 and OBF-1 (OCA-B/Bob.1)
- Gene targeting approaches to gene function in vivo
- Molecular regulation of plasma cell malignancy
- Discovery of novel immunomodulatory drug
Selected Publications
- Kallies A, Hasbold J, Tarlinton DM, Dietrich W, Corcoran LM, Hodgkin PD, Nutt SL. Plasma cell ontogeny defined by quantitative changes in blimp-1 expression. J Exp Med. 2004 Oct 18;200(8):967-77 PMID: 15492122 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- Hasbold J, Corcoran LM, Tarlinton DM, Tangye SG, Hodgkin PD. Evidence from the generation of immunoglobulin G-secreting cells that stochastic mechanisms regulate lymphocyte differentiation.
Nat Immunol. 2004 Jan;5(1):55-63 PMID: 14647274 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] - Corcoran LM, Hasbold J, Dietrich W, Hawkins E, Kallies A, Nutt SL, Tarlinton DM, Matthias P, Hodgkin PD. Differential requirement for OBF-1 during antibody-secreting cell differentiation. J Exp Med. 2005 May 2;201(9):1385-96 PMID: 15867091 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- Corcoran LM. Transcriptional control of B cell activation. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2005;290:105-46 PMID: 16480041 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- Corcoran LM, Koentgen F, Dietrich W, Veale M, Humbert PO. All known in vivo functions of the Oct-2 transcription factor require the C-terminal protein domain. J Immunol. 2004 Mar 1;172(5):2962-9 PMID: 14978099 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- Emslie D, D'Costa K, Hasbold J, Metcalf D, Takatsu K, Hodgkin PO, Corcoran LM. Oct2 enhances antibody-secreting cell differentiation through regulation of IL-5 receptor alpha chain expression on activated B cells. J Exp Med. 2008 Feb 18;205(2):409-21 PMID: 18250192 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- D'Costa K, Emslie D, Metcalf D, Smyth GK, Karnowski A, Kallies A, Nutt SL, Corcoran LM. Blimp1 is limiting for transformation in a mouse plasmacytoma model. Blood. 2009 Jun 4;113(23):5911-9. Epub 2009 Mar 27. PMID: 19329782 [PubMed - in process]
- Theodorou E, Dalembert G, Heffelfinger C, White E, Weissman S, Corcoran L, Snyder M. A high throughput embryonic stem cell screen identifies Oct-2 as a bifunctional regulator of neuronal differentiation. Genes Dev. 2009 Mar 1;23(5):575-88. PMID: 19270158 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
- Chevrier S, Genton C, Kallies A, Karnowski A, Otten LA, Malissen B, Malissen M, Botto M, Corcoran LM, Nutt SL, Acha-Orbea H. CD93 is required for maintenance of antibody secretion and persistence of plasma cells in the bone marrow niche. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Mar 10;106(10):3895-900. Epub 2009 Feb 19. PMID: 1922894
- Karnowski A, Cao C, Matthias G, Carotta S, Corcoran LM, Martensson IL, Skok JA, Matthias P. Silencing and nuclear repositioning of the lambda5 gene locus at the pre-B cell stage requires Aiolos and OBF-1. PLoS One. 2008;3(10):e3568. Epub 2008 Oct 30. PMID: 18974788
Click here to view more PubMed publications
Current Laboratory Members
Faculty Member: Lynn Corcoran BSc(Hons) PhD Melb
Postdoctoral Fellow: Stephane Chevrier PhD Lausanne
Postdoctoral Fellow: Nadine Taubenheim PhD Albert-Ludwigs
Research Assistant: Dianne Emslie BSc(Hons) PhD VUT
Research Assistant: Tobias Kratina BSc(Hons) Deakin
