Heterogeneity of germinal center B cells: New insights from single-cell studies.
Eur J Immunol 2021;
51:2555-2567. [PMID:
34324199 DOI:
10.1002/eji.202149235]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Upon antigen exposure, activated B cells in antigen-draining lymphoid organs form microanatomical structures, called germinal centers (GCs), where affinity maturation occurs. Within the GC microenvironment, GC B cells undergo proliferation and B cell receptor (BCR) genes somatic hypermutation in the dark zone (DZ), and affinity-based selection in the light zone (LZ). In the current paradigm of GC dynamics, high-affinity LZ B cells may be selected by cognate T- follicular helper cells to either differentiate into plasma cells or memory B cells, or re-enter the DZ and initiate a new round of proliferation and BCR diversification, before migrating back to the LZ. Given the diversity of cell states and potential cell fates that GC B cells may adopt, the two-state DZ-LZ paradigm has been challenged by studies that explored GC B-cell heterogeneity with a variety of single-cell technologies. Here, we review studies and single-cell technologies which have allowed to refine the working model of GC B-cell cellular and molecular heterogeneity during affinity maturation. This review also covers the use of single-cell quantitative data for mathematical modeling of GC reactions, and the application of single-cell genomics to the study of GC-derived malignancies.
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