Antibody-mediated feedback modulates interclonal competition in the germinal center.

ABSTRACT: Serum antibodies from prior immune responses regulate B cell activation and germinal center (GC) access upon recall immunization. However, how antibodies produced by an ongoing immune response influence the outcomes of contemporaneous GCs is less clear. To explore this, we developed mouse models enabling the targeted ablation of plasma cells and antibodies produced by an immune response of interest, without affecting those produced homeostatically or by prior antigen encounters. Our findings show that, whereas antibody-mediated feedback is not required for affinity maturation, it can influence competition between B cells with different epitope specificities, specifically by reducing the abundance of clones that recognize the same epitopes as circulating antibodies. This modality of feedbac

SUBMITTER: Barbulescu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12637549 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature