Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the dominant antibody isotype at barrier tissues, where it protects against pathogens while maintaining balanced interactions with commensal microorganisms. This talk will examine how signaling and cellular interactions underpin the generation of IgA responses in the gut, how nutrient-sensing pathways regulate IgA plasma cell secretion, and how commensal microbes imprint anatomically restricted IgA plasma cell responses beyond the intestine. Together, these studies highlight how signaling, metabolism, and tissue context coordinate IgA responses, highlighting complementary layers of regulation that tailor barrier immunity to environmental cues and how these pathways may be targeted to enhance protective immunity
About the speaker
Andrea Reboldi, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Pathology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He completed his doctoral training with Federica Sallusto at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Bellinzona, Switzerland, and pursued postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Jason Cyster at University of California, San Francisco.
His research program focuses on the development and long-term maintenance of immune cells at barrier tissues, with particular emphasis on how cholesterol-derived metabolites shape effector immune responses at mucosal and cutaneous sites. Dr. Reboldi’s work aims to elucidate fundamental immunometabolic pathways that can be leveraged to enhance protective immunity against infection while limiting tissue autoinflammation.
