Focus of Research
We are interested in survival of mature B cells after deletion of components of B cell antigen receptor (BCR) and its signaling machinery. For this purpose we are using Tamoxifen-inducible B cell specific Cre strains to delete different “floxed” alleles (immunoglobulin heavy chain, Iga, Igb, Syk) in B cells. Furthermore, we would like to translate our knowledge to murine and human B cells from established mouse models for malignant B cell development and from human patients with lymphatic disorders, respectively.
Levit-Zerdoun E, Becker M, Pohlmeyer R, Wilhelm I, Maity PC, Rajewsky K, Reth M, Hobeika E (2016). Survival of Igα-Deficient Mature B Cells Requires BAFF-R Function. Journal for Immunology 2016 Mar 1;196(5):2348-60. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1501707. Epub 2016 Feb
Yamamoto, K., B. J. Lee, C. Li, R. L. Dubois, E. Hobeika, G. Bhagat, and S. Zha. 2015. Early B-cell specific inactivation of ATM synergizes with ectopic CyclinD1 expression to promote pre-germinal center B-cell lymphomas in mice. Leukemia 29: 1414-1424.
Hobeika, E., P. J. Nielsen, and D. Medgyesi. 2015. Signaling mechanisms regulating B-lymphocyte activation and tolerance. Journal of molecular medicine 93: 143-158.
Hobeika, E., E. Levit-Zerdoun, V. Anastasopoulou, R. Pohlmeyer, S. Altmeier, A. Alsadeq, M. W. Dobenecker, R. Pelanda, and M. Reth. 2015. CD19 and BAFF-R can signal to promote B-cell survival in the absence of Syk. The EMBO journal 34: 925-939.
Klasen, C., Ohl, M. Sternkopf, I. Shachar, C. Schmitz, N. Heussen, E. Hobeika, E. Levit-Zerdoun, K. Tenbrock, M. Reth, J. Bernhagen, and O. El Bounkari. 2014. MIF promotes B cell chemotaxis through the receptors CXCR4 and CD74 and ZAP-70 signaling. Journal of immunology 192: 5273-5284.
Hug, E., E. Hobeika, M. Reth, and H. Jumaa. 2014. Inducible expression of hyperactive Syk in B cells activates Blimp-1-dependent terminal differentiation. Oncogene 33: 3730-3741.
Alsadeq, A., E. Hobeika, D. Medgyesi, K. Klasener, and M. Reth. 2014. The role of the Syk/Shp-1 kinase-phosphatase equilibrium in B cell development and signaling. Journal of immunology 193: 268-276.
Hao, Z., G. S. Duncan, Y. W. Su, W. Y. Li, J. Silvester, C. Hong, H. You, D. Brenner, C. Gorrini, J. Haight, A. Wakeham, A. You-Ten, S. McCracken, A. Elia, Q. Li, J. Detmar, A. Jurisicova, E. Hobeika, M. Reth, Y. Sheng, P. A. Lang, P. S. Ohashi, Q. Zhong, X. Wang, and T. W. Mak. 2012. The E3 ubiquitin ligase Mule acts through the ATM-p53 axis to maintain B lymphocyte homeostasis. The Journal of experimental medicine 209: 173-186.
Rowh, M. A., A. DeMicco, J. E. Horowitz, B. Yin, K. S. Yang-Iott, A. M. Fusello, E. Hobeika, M. Reth, and C. H. Bassing. 2011. Tp53 deletion in B lineage cells predisposes mice to lymphomas with oncogenic translocations. Oncogene 30: 4757-4764.
Werner, M., E. Hobeika, and H. Jumaa. 2010. Role of PI3K in the generation and survival of B cells. Immunological reviews 237: 55-71.
Hobeika, E., S. Thiemann, B. Storch, H. Jumaa, P. J. Nielsen, R. Pelanda, and M. Reth. 2006. Testing gene function early in the B cell lineage in mb1-cre mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103: 13789-13794.