title: Self-recognition and clonal selection: autoreactivity drives the generation of B cells.
abstract: The diversity of B cell receptor (BCR) specificities is generated by VDJ recombination of gene segments during early B cell development, a process which bears the risk of producing BCRs that recognize and lead to the destruction of self-structures. Traditional thoughts have mainly focused on how such putatively dangerous specificities are dealt with and in how they contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases. However, a positive or even necessary role of self-recognition during B cell development has rarely been taken into account. Now, considerable data reveal that the pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR), which marks an important checkpoint during B cell development, acts as a surrogate autoreactive receptor. This review outlines how autoreactivity is necessary for efficient B cell development and how autoreactive receptors drive positive selection, leading to a diverse repertoire of receptor specificities in the mature B cell pool.
authors.affiliation: BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jumaa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D038041:Lymphopoiesis; D054420:Pre-B Cell Receptors / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D054420:Pre-B Cell Receptors