Phenotypic determinism and stochasticity in antibody repertoires of clonally expanded plasma cells.

ABSTRACT: The capacity of humoral B cell-mediated immunity to effectively respond to and protect against pathogenic infections is largely driven by the presence of a diverse repertoire of polyclonal antibodies in the serum, which are produced by plasma cells (PCs). Recent studies have started to reveal the balance between deterministic mechanisms and stochasticity of antibody repertoires on a genotypic level (i.e., clonal diversity, somatic hypermutation, and germline gene usage). However, it remains unclear if clonal selection and expansion of PCs follow any deterministic rules or are stochastic with regards to phenotypic antibody properties (i.e., antigen-binding, affinity, and epitope specificity). Here, we report on the in-depth genotypic and phenotypic characterization of clonally expanded PC a

SUBMITTER: Neumeier D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9170022 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature