Lineage tracing of human B cells reveals the in vivo landscape of human antibody class switching.

ABSTRACT: Antibody class switching is a feature of the adaptive immune system which enables diversification of the effector properties of antibodies. Even though class switching is essential for mounting a protective response to pathogens, the in vivo patterns and lineage characteristics of antibody class switching have remained uncharacterized in living humans. Here we comprehensively measured the landscape of antibody class switching in human adult twins using antibody repertoire sequencing. The map identifies how antibodies of every class are created and delineates a two-tiered hierarchy of class switch pathways. Using somatic hypermutations as a molecular clock, we discovered that closely related B cells often switch to the same class, but lose coherence as somatic mutations accumulate. Such cor

SUBMITTER: Horns F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4970870 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature