title: Self-tolerance in B lymphocytes.
abstract: Normally the immune system does not produce pathogenic antibodies to autologous antigens, due to induction of self-tolerance in both the T and B lymphocyte repertoires. The aim of this paper is to review the evidence for self-tolerance within the B cell repertoire, and the range of possible mechanisms responsible for it. In practice, the mechanism of B cell tolerance to autologous antigens in vivo remains controversial, and may in fact vary (depending on the nature of the self antigen and the properties of the self-reactive B cell. Recent work in transgenic mouse models of B cell tolerance has helped to assimilate the numerous and sometimes disparate findings from other models, firstly by allowing direct visualization of the fate of self-reactive B cells in vivo, and secondly, by enabling systematic genetic changes to be made either in the self antigen or in the self-reactive B cell.
authors.affiliation: Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia 2006.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Goodnow
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basten
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D017634:Self Tolerance
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens