title: Humoral immunity due to long-lived plasma cells.
abstract: Conventional models suggest that long-term antibody responses are maintained by the continuous differentiation of memory B cells into antibody-secreting plasma cells. This is based on the notion that plasma cells are short-lived and need to be continually replenished by memory B cells. We examined the issue of plasma cell longevity by following the persistence of LCMV-specific antibody and plasma cell numbers after in vivo depletion of memory B cells and by adoptive transfer of virus-specific plasma cells into naive mice. The results show that a substantial fraction of plasma cells can survive and continue to secrete antibody for extended periods of time (>1 year) in the absence of any detectable memory B cells. This study documents the existence of long-lived plasma cells and demonstrates a new mechanism by which humoral immunity is maintained.
authors.affiliation: Emory Vaccine Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Slifka
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Antia
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Whitmire
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000276:immunology; D002470:Cell Survival; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D008216:Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis / Q000097:blood*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D011828:Radiation Chimera; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral