title: Mechanisms of central tolerance for B cells.
abstract: Immune tolerance hinders the potentially destructive responses of lymphocytes to host tissues. Tolerance is regulated at the stage of immature B cell development (central tolerance) by clonal deletion, involving apoptosis, and by receptor editing, which reprogrammes the specificity of B cells through secondary recombination of antibody genes. Recent mechanistic studies have begun to elucidate how these divergent mechanisms are controlled. Single-cell antibody cloning has revealed defects of B cell central tolerance in human autoimmune diseases and in several human immunodeficiency diseases caused by single gene mutations, which indicates the relevance of B cell tolerance to disease and suggests possible genetic pathways that regulate tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nemazee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D018089:Superantigens / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D018089:Superantigens