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
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
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:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-022-01240-z
