title: Innate-like B cells.
abstract: Numerous studies in several species have shown that certain subsets of T and B lymphocytes express antigen receptors which are either semi-invariant, or germline encoded, and often autoreactive. In the case of B cells they appear to use a distinct immune recognition strategy during developmental selection and functional activation. These B cells respond to foreign antigens, and have the ability to protect against a variety of infections; however, they can also react with self or neoself antigens. They appear to use the latter as positively selecting ligands facilitating their entry into and maintenance in a functional repertoire, as well as providing cues for positioning themselves in strategic microenvironmental niches in the immune system and at interfaces with the environment. These innate-like B cell subsets form a bridge between the rapidly occurring innate immune responses, and the slower acting primary, T cell-dependent, adaptive antibody response by providing a rapid T cell-independent antibody response.
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental and Clinical Immunology, Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, WTI 378, 1824 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-3300, USA. jfk@uab.edu
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kearney
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008024:Ligands; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000276:immunology; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D010767:Phosphorylcholine