Abstract
Germinal centers (GCs) are essential sites for the production of high-affinity antibody secreting plasma cells (PCs) and memory-B cells (MBCs), which form the framework of vaccination. Affinity maturation and permissive selection in GCs are key for the production of PCs and MBCs, respectively. For these purposes, GCs positively select “fit” cells in the light zone of the GC and instructs them for one of three known B cell fates: PCs, MBCs and persistent GC-B cells as dark zone entrants. In this review, we provide an overview of the positive selection process and discuss its mechanisms and how B cell fates are instructed.
Highlights
Germinal centers (GCs) are sites where antibody affinity for the antigen (Ag) is improved and Agactivated B cells differentiate, they are important for host defense and clearance of exogenous pathogens
somatic hypermutation (SHM) is mediated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) [5] and occurs in the dark zone (DZ) where GC-B cells extensively proliferate
We summarize and discuss studies illustrating how positive selection of GC-B cells are triggered, what molecular and cellular events that GC-B cells undergo during the process of positive selection, and how B cell fate decisions are coordinated during positive selection
Summary
Germinal centers (GCs) are sites where antibody affinity for the antigen (Ag) is improved and Agactivated B cells differentiate, they are important for host defense and clearance of exogenous pathogens. In response to signals from BCR engagement and TFHs, a fraction of LZ-B cells are positively selected and results in evasion of apoptosis partially in a microRNA-155-dependent manner [10, 11].
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