Two complementary features of humoral immune memory confer protection against the same or variant antigens.

ABSTRACT: The humoral immune response, a key arm of adaptive immunity, consists of B cells and their products. Upon infection or vaccination, B cells undergo a Darwinian evolutionary process in germinal centers (GCs), resulting in the production of antibodies and memory B cells. We developed a computational model to study how humoral memory is recalled upon reinfection or booster vaccination. We find that upon reexposure to the same antigen, affinity-dependent selective expansion of available memory B cells outside GCs (extragerminal center compartments [EGCs]) results in a rapid response made up of the best available antibodies. Memory B cells that enter secondary GCs can undergo mutation and selection to generate even more potent responses over time, enabling greater protection upon subsequent exp

SUBMITTER: Van Beek M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9477401 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature