title: Human marginal zone B cells.
abstract: Human marginal zone (MZ) B cells are, in a sense, a new entity. Although they share many properties with their mouse counterpart, they also display striking differences, such as the capacity to recirculate and the presence of somatic mutations in their B cell receptor. These differences are the reason they are often not considered a separate, rodent-like B cell lineage, but rather are considered IgM memory B cells. We review here our present knowledge concerning this subset and the arguments in favor of the proposition that humans have evolved for their MZ B cell compartment a separate B cell population that develops and diversifies its Ig receptor during ontogeny outside T-dependent or T-independent immune responses.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U783, Développement du Système Immunitaire, Université Paris Descartes, Faculté de Médecine, Site Necker-Enfants Malades, 75730 Paris Cedex 15, France. jean-claude.weill@inserm.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Weill
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weller
authors.forename: Claude-Agnès
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Reynaud
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D006801:Humans; D053306:Hyper-IgM Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007072:Immunoglobulin D / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007072:Immunoglobulin D; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D018127:Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Superfamily, Member 7