| First Author | Schwickert TA | Year | 2009 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 206 |
| Issue | 13 | Pages | 2907-14 |
| PubMed ID | 19934021 | Mgi Jnum | J:155831 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4415773 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20091225 |
| Citation | Schwickert TA, et al. (2009) Germinal center reutilization by newly activated B cells. J Exp Med 206(13):2907-14 |
| abstractText | Germinal centers (GCs) are specialized structures in which B lymphocytes undergo clonal expansion, class switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and affinity maturation. Although these structures were previously thought to contain a limited number of isolated B cell clones, recent in vivo imaging studies revealed that they are in fact dynamic and appear to be open to their environment. We demonstrate that B cells can colonize heterologous GCs. Invasion of primary GCs after subsequent immunization is most efficient when T cell help is shared by the two immune responses; however, it also occurs when the immune responses are entirely unrelated. We conclude that GCs are dynamic anatomical structures that can be reutilized by newly activated B cells during immune responses. |
