Regulation of germinal center B-cell differentiation

• Published in: Immunological reviews Vol. 270; no. 1; pp. 8 - 19
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yang, Garcia-Ibanez, Laura, Toellner, Kai-Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2016; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: affinity maturation; Animals; Antibody Formation; B-cell selection; B-Lymphocytes - cytology; B-Lymphocytes - physiology; Cell Communication; Cell Differentiation; Clonal Selection, Antigen-Mediated; cytokines; germinal center; Germinal Center - cytology; Germinal Center - physiology; Humans; immune complex; Immunomodulation; Invited Review; Invited Reviews; Lymphocyte Activation; Signal Transduction; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - cytology; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - physiology; Tfh cells; cytokines; germinal center; Tfh cells; immune complex; B-cell selection; affinity maturation

Summary Germinal centers (GC) are the main sites where antigen‐activated B‐cell clones expand and undergo immunoglobulin gene hypermutation and selection. Iterations of this process will lead to affinity maturation, replicating Darwinian evolution on the cellular level. GC B‐cell selection can lead...