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News
Researchers at Kobe University have developed the pGen-SHM plot, a new method to track how the immune system rebuilds itself after stem cell transplantation. By combining two key markers of B-cell development, the tool can visualize immune maturation over time — something conventional methods couldn't do. It could eventually guide decisions around infection prevention and revaccination in transplant patients.
After a stem cell transplant, patients lose much of the immunity they've built up over a lifetime — leaving them vulnerable to serious infections. Knowing when and how that immunity comes back has been a major blind spot in transplant medicine, since traditional measures like IgG levels or immune cell counts only tell part of the story.
A team at Kobe University Hospital has developed a new analytical tool called the pGen-SHM plot to fill that gap. It maps individual B-cell receptor (BCR) sequences along two dimensions: how easily a sequence is generated (pGen) and how much antigen-driven maturation has occurred (SHM). Together, these axes paint a picture of where a patient's immune system stands in its recovery journey. The findings were published in Blood Immunology & Cellular Therapy on August 3, 2026.
Key Takeaways:
Why it matters: This tool offers clinicians a clearer, more objective window into immune recovery — potentially improving the timing of revaccination and infection prevention strategies for one of medicine's most immunologically vulnerable patient populations.
