title: Exposure to environmental antigens induces the development of germinal centers in premature neonates.
abstract: The immune response of the neonate is poor and is dependent on passive immunity provided by maternal Ig. However, here we show that exposure of the neonate to environmental antigens induces a germinal center (GC) reaction. In the peripheral blood of premature infants one finds IgG class switched B cells expressing a selected V-gene repertoire. These data suggest that restrictions in the repertoire rather than immaturity of the immune system is responsible for the poor immune responses of the neonate.
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Rheuma ForschungsZentrum, Schumannstreet 21-22, Berlin 10117, Germany.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wittenbrink
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zemlin
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berek
mesh_terms: D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D004777:Environment; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000276:immunology; D005333:Fetus / Q000276:immunology; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D017578:Immunoglobulin Class Switching; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000276:immunology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens