title: Changes in the B-cell repertoire with age.
abstract: Changes in the B-cell repertoire during aging include a shift in antibody specificities from foreign to autologous antigens associated with a decline in the activity of conventional B2 compared to B1 lymphocytes. The age-associated increase in B1 lymphocyte number and activity contribute to the increased serum concentration of autoantibodies and the B-cell clonal expansions that develop with age. Aging is also associated with a decreased diversity of the antibody response reflected in the preferential loss of IgG and high affinity antibodies following immunization with a foreign antigen. Many of these changes can be traced to an impaired capacity of T cells to support isotype switching and somatic mutation in the periphery and the generation of a diverse B-cell repertoire from bone marrow B-cell precursors.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA. weksler@med.cornell.edu
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Weksler
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000378:metabolism; D000915:Antibody Affinity; D000916:Antibody Diversity; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000378:metabolism; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001323:Autoantibodies; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes