title: Central B-cell tolerance: where selection begins.
abstract: The development of an adaptive immune system based on the random generation of antigen receptors requires a stringent selection process that sifts through receptor specificities to remove those reacting with self-antigens. In the B-cell lineage, this selection process is first applied to IgM(+) immature B cells. By using increasingly sophisticated mouse models, investigators have identified the central tolerance mechanisms that negatively select autoreactive immature B cells and prevent inclusion of their antigen receptors into the peripheral B-cell pool. Additional studies have uncovered mechanisms that promote the differentiation of nonautoreactive immature B cells and their positive selection into the peripheral B-cell population. These mechanisms of central selection are fundamental to the generation of a naïve B-cell repertoire that is largely devoid of self-reactivity while capable of reacting with any foreign insult.
authors.affiliation: Integrated Department of Immunology, National Jewish Health and University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado 80206, USA. pelandar@njhealth.org
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pelanda
authors.forename: Raul M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000915:Antibody Affinity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines