The imperfect control of self-reactive germinal center B cells.

The imperfect control of self-reactive germinal center B cells. Curr Opin Immunol. 2014 Mar 27;28C:97-101 Authors: Brink R Abstract Unlike T cells, B cells diversify their antigen receptor (BCR) binding specificities at two distinct stages of differentiation. Thus, in addition to initial variable region gene rearrangements, B cells recruited into T-dependent immune responses further modify their BCR specificity via iterative rounds of somatic hypermutation (SHM) within germinal centers (GCs). Although critical for providing the high-affinity antibody specificities required for long-term immune protection, SHM can also generate self-reactive B cells capable of differentiating into autoantibody-producing plasma cells. Recent data confirm that self-reactive GC B cells can be effectively removed from the secondary repertoire so as to maintain self-tolerance. However, they can also escape deletion under certain circumstances and so contribute to autoimmune disease via production of somatically mutated, pathogenic autoantibodies. PMID: 24686094 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Immunol Source Type: research