title: Do developing B cells need antigen?
abstract: Just as potentially useful T cells are positively selected by MHC-peptide complexes in the thymus, it has been proposed that self or commensal bacterial epitopes might select B cell populations with the capacity to recognize polysaccharide or protein structures on pathogens. Recent studies indicate that the repertoire of B cells entering the periphery is not shaped by specific stimuli, but that mature B cell subsets may be under different selective pressures.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U373, Faculté de Médecine René Descartes, 75730 Paris Cedex 15, France. weill@necker.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Weill
authors.forename: Claude-Agnès
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Reynaud
mesh_terms: D000916:Antibody Diversity / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D007128:Immunoglobulin Fragments / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000276:immunology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000378:metabolism*; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D007128:Immunoglobulin Fragments; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell