Critical for B cell activity regulation are its various vesicle populations, but their functions in B cell lymphomas is unknown. In our laboratory (started 09/2023), we want to understand how lysosomes and extracellular vesicles contribute to the pathogenesis of various B cell lymphomas and especially of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) which is an aggressive and the most common type of all B cell lymphomas, diagnosed in ~600 patients in Finland each year (Duodecim, 2022).

We aim to explore the possibility to pharmacologically target lysosomes to attenuate human B lymphoma cell proliferation. We utilise DLBCL cells and patient samples, high-resolution imaging and three-dimensional (3D) tissue models to emulate as much as possible the in vivo organization of surface receptors, local pH levels and drug responses. Furthermore, we investigate the altered phenotype of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in DLBCL, with potential biomarker possibilities to detect B cell lymphomas.