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In vivo imaging studies shed light on germinal-centre development

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 7, pages 499–504 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Affinity maturation of antibodies during the course of an adaptive immune response requires germinal centre (GC) formation within B-cell follicles. Much of the current understanding of GC function has been derived from histology, but these static views have left unresolved many questions about cell movement in GCs. In this Progress article, we describe how several recent studies using time-resolved multiphoton microscopy to track GC B-cell movement within lymph nodes have shed light on the processes that influence GC B-cell dynamics.

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Figure 1: Principles of multiphoton excitation in tissues.
Figure 2: Migration models proposed to account for the rapid development of higher-affinity B cells within germinal centres.
Figure 3: Recent insights in germinal-centre dynamics gained from in vivo imaging experiments.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all our colleagues for discussion and advice, in particular S. Kleinstein, U. Hershberg, T. Junt, T. Mempel and U. von Andrian. We apologize to the many investigators who have made important contributions to this field that could not be cited owing to space limitations. A.M.H. is supported by the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation, A.E.H. by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Forschungsstipendium HA5354/1 and M.J.S. by the National Institutes of Health, USA, grant R01-AI43603.

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  1. Mark J. Shlomchik and Ann M. Haberman are at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Anja E. Hauser, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.,

    Anja E. Hauser, Mark J. Shlomchik & Ann M. Haberman

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  1. Anja E. Hauser
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Correspondence to Ann M. Haberman.

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Hauser, A., Shlomchik, M. & Haberman, A. In vivo imaging studies shed light on germinal-centre development. Nat Rev Immunol 7, 499–504 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri2120

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