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Innate B Cells

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Synopsis

B cells have long been appreciated to play a central role in adaptive immunity through their production of antigen-specific antibodies in response to activated T cells. It is now known that innate B cell populations exist that provide rapid protection against pathogens by secreting antibodies without T cell help. Recently, a B cell population has been discovered that regulates immune responses through cytokine secretion. This minireview will cover our current understanding of these B cell subsets in rodents as well as B cell populations in humans which may serve similar functions.

Introduction

Experiments with germ-free mice have demonstrated that antibodies are generated in the absence of microbial exposure. Such antibodies are referred to as natural antibodies. They target microbial antigens such as bacterial cell wall polysaccharides and viral glycoproteins, but can also react to self-antigens including DNA, membrane proteins, and immunoglobulins. The antigens recognized by...

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Correspondence to Jonathan P. Jacobs .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Jacobs, J.P. (2014). Innate B Cells. In: Bell, E. (eds) Molecular Life Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_121-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_121-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6436-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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