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Lymphocyte fate specification as a deterministic but highly plastic process

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 14, pages 699–704 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

The cellular progeny of a clonally selected lymphocyte must execute function. However, their function must often occur in more than one way, in more than one place and at more than one time. Experimental evidence supports the view that a single activated lymphocyte can produce a variety of cellular descendants. The mechanisms that are responsible for generating diversity among the progeny of a single lymphocyte remain a subject of lively controversy. Some groups have suggested stochastic mechanisms that are analogous to the diversification of the antigen receptor repertoire. We suggest that the complexity of lymphocyte fates in space and time can be derived from a single naive lymphocyte using the principles of cell diversification that are common in developmental and regenerative biology, including (but not limited to) asymmetric cell division.

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Figure 1: Hypothetical models to generate lymphocyte cell fate diversity in the immune response.
Figure 2: Cell fate diversification from a single lymphocyte as a deterministic but plastic process versus a stochastic process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to members of their laboratory for stimulating discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Department of Pediatrics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, 701 West 168th Street, HHSC 912, New York, 10032, New York, USA

    Steven L. Reiner & William C. Adams

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Correspondence to Steven L. Reiner.

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Reiner, S., Adams, W. Lymphocyte fate specification as a deterministic but highly plastic process. Nat Rev Immunol 14, 699–704 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3734

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