title: Transduction of binding affinity by B lymphocytes: a new dimension in immunological regulation.
abstract: To date, immunologists have operated with two primary paradigms governing the antibody response: (1) that affinity maturation is primarily dependent upon antigen-driven selection of both the germline and somatically amended repertoires, and (2) that antibody effector function is isotypically determined. The teleost model now suggests that these classical paradigms should be broadened to incorporate the ability of the B cell to transduce the strength of antigen recognition (affinity) into structural modifications of its antibody product, which, in turn, modulates the antibody's effector function. Although this relationship, thus far, has only been examined and demonstrated in the teleost, we find a number of the individual elements of this structural/functional relationship have been reported for mammalian IgM, which prompts future investigations into its universality. In sum, these findings suggest a heretofore unrecognized feature of B lymphocyte affinity discrimination, which transduces the affinity of antigen recognition into functionally modified antibodies.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, United States.
authors.forename: Jianmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bromage
authors.forename: Ilsa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaattari
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaattari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000915:Antibody Affinity / Q000235:genetics; D000916:Antibody Diversity / Q000235:genetics; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D056724:Immunity, Humoral; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D056747:Immunomodulation; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000276:immunology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology; D027041:Somatic Hypermutation, Immunoglobulin; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D007136:Immunoglobulins