title: Protective B cell responses to flu--no fluke!
abstract: The mechanisms regulating the induction and maintenance of B lymphocytes have been delineated extensively in immunization studies using proteins and hapten-carrier systems. Increasing evidence suggests, however, that the regulation of B cell responses induced by infections is far more complex. In this study, we review the current understanding of B cell responses induced following infection with influenza virus, a small RNA virus that causes the flu. Notably, the rapidly induced, highly protective, and long-lived humoral response to this virus is contributed by multiple B cell subsets, each generating qualitatively distinct respiratory tract and systemic responses. Some B cell subsets provide extensive cross-protection against variants of the ever-mutating virus, and each is regulated by the quality and magnitude of infection-induced innate immune signals. Knowledge gained from the analysis of such highly protective humoral response might provide a blueprint for successful vaccines and vaccination approaches.
authors.affiliation: Center for Comparative Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Waffarn
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baumgarth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D009975:Orthomyxoviridae / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral