which cells are responsible for antibody production

Firstly, the cells can undergo plasmacytic differentiation, form extrafollicular plasmablasts and form IgM secreting plasma cells. Following cognate antigen encounter, B cells receiving T cell help can enter a couple of different developmental possibilities. Mature FO B cells recirculate between secondary lymphoid organs in search of antigen.

B1 cells have distinct haematopoietic origins in the in the fetal liver, and the initial wave of lymphopoiesis in the embryo appears to be skewed towards B1 B cell development. B1 cells are located in a number of tissues including the spleen, intestine, the peritoneal cavity and pleural cavities. In addition to FO and MZ B cells, a third population of mature B cells exists known as B1 cells.

T3 B cells do not give rise to mature B cells, but instead represent a subset of anergic B cells which have been selected away from the B cell developmental pathway. Thus, B cells experience both antigen-dependent and -independent phases of selection, which are tightly regulated through signalling events. After production in the BM, immature surface IgM+ B cells migrate to the spleen where they differentiate through distinct transitional B cell stages termed T1 and T2, before differentiating into long-lived mature follicular (FO) or marginal zone (MZ) B cells. In a bid to prevent autoreactivity, immature B cells which encounter Ag capable of cross-linking their newly expressed BCRs are eliminated by a variety of mechanisms. Quiescent small pre-B cells then undergo V-J rearrangement of the Ig light chain, allowing the production of a complete functional BCR with a unique specificity that is expressed as IgM on the surface of immature B cells. Signalling through the pre-BCR drives intense proliferation and differentiation into the small pre-B cell stage. The recombined heavy chain then associates with the surrogate light chains and the Ig/ dimer to form the pre-B cell receptor (pre-BCR) which is expressed on the cell surface. This is followed by V-DJ recombination yielding a functional heavy chain protein (Ig) in large pre-B cells. During B cell development, rearrangement of the Ig heavy chain occurs first, commencing with D-J recombination, which takes place in the common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) and pre-pro B cells. This technology would be used by scientists all over the world and win Milstein and Köhler a Nobel Prize in 1984.Immunoglobulins consist of two identical heavy and light chains, which are joined by disulphide bonds. In their efforts to investigate somatic mutation, Milstein and Köhler had created the ultimate immortal cell line with the ability to produce endless and abundant supplies of identical antibodies with known specificity. Not only were these antibodies specific for the antigen in question, they were also secreted in large quantities. They immunised against ovine red blood cells and after growing the hybridoma cells in culture with these cells, they identified multiple areas of haemolysis – suggesting the antibodies produced had indeed attacked the blood cells. Milstein and Köhler hypothesized that by immunizing hosts with a specific antigen, and fusing host B-cells with myeloma cells, they would create an immortal hybridoma cell line with the ability to secrete antibodies of a known specificity. The pair devised the idea of the hybridoma cell – an antibody-producing B-cell fused with an immortal myeloma cell. In a bid to develop a similar long-lasting cell that secreted antibodies of a known specificity, he began to work alongside Gorges Köhler.

Which cells are responsible for antibody production