A single-cell sequencing study shows that the human memory B cell repertoire is dominated by large IgM, IgG2 and IgA immunoglobulin families, whereas IgG1 families, including those specific for recall antigens, are of a small size. Multi-year analysis shows that memory B cell families are highly stable and that plasmablasts of T cell–independent and T cell–dependent isotypes are produced in a recurrent manner.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Georgiou, G. et al. The promise and challenge of high-throughput sequencing of the antibody repertoire. Nat. Biotechnol. 32, 158–168 (2014). This Review covers the promise and challenge of high-throughput sequencing and analysis of the antibody repertoire.
Briney, B., Inderbitzin, A., Joyce, C. & Burton, D. R. Commonality despite exceptional diversity in the baseline human antibody repertoire. Nature 566, 393–397 (2019). This study analyzes the large number of heavy chains from circulating B cells to estimate the size and diversity of the human B cell receptor.
Radbruch, A. et al. Competence and competition: the challenge of becoming a long-lived plasma cell. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 6, 741–750 (2006). This Review discusses plasmablasts, long-lived plasma cells and the maintenance of serum concentrations of specific antibodies.
Bernasconi, N. L., Traggiai, E. & Lanzavecchia, A. Maintenance of serological memory by polyclonal activation of human memory B cells. Science 298, 2199–2202 (2002). This study demonstrates that polyclonal bystander activation of memory B cells maintains serum antibody concentrations.
Davis, C. W. et al. Influenza vaccine-induced human bone marrow plasma cells decline within a year after vaccination. Science 370, 237–241 (2020). This study analyzes vaccine-induced, influenza virus–specific bone marrow plasma cells and shows that they decrease to pre-boost levels after 1 year.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Phad, G. E. et al. Clonal structure, stability and dynamics of human memory B cells and circulating plasmablasts. Nat. Immunol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-022-01230-1 (2021).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Long-term study of the human memory B cell pool reveals high stability and recurrent plasmablasts. Nat Immunol 23, 1002–1003 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-022-01240-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-022-01240-z