Germinal centers: a second childhood for lymphocytes.
Recent observations show that, in the peripheral lymphoid organs known as germinal centers, lymphocytes appear to regain the phenotypic and molecular traits of immature cells; this cellular regression may play an important role in the affinity maturation of immune responses.
Tarlinton
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Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria 3050, Australia.
D000818:Animals; D000916:Antibody Diversity; D017209:Apoptosis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D017637:Clonal Deletion; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011506:Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism; D017634:Self Tolerance
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011506:Proteins; C499311:RAG2 protein, human; C499308:Rag2 protein, mouse; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; C064655:V(D)J recombination activating protein 2; C064658:RAG-1 protein