Signal Transduction and the Coordination of B Lymphocyte Development and Function I: Transduction of BCR Signals from the Cell Membrane to the Nucleus (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology)

Justement, Louis B.

ISBN 10: 3642630170 / ISBN 13: 9783642630170

Published by Springer, 2012

About this Item

288 pages. 9.25x6.10x0.65 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-3642630170

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Signal Transduction and the Coordination of B Lymphocyte Development and Function I: Transduction of BCR Signals from the Cell Membrane to the Nucleus (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology)
• Publisher: Springer
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3642630170
• ISBN 13: 9783642630170
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.45 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

Proper development and differentiation of B lymphocytes is es­ sential to ensure that an organism has the ability to mount an effective humoral immune response against foreign antigens. The immune system must maintain a balance between the deletion of harmful self-reactive B cells and the generation of a diverse rep­ ertoire of B cells that has the ability to recognize an almost un­ limited array of foreign antigens. The need to delete self-reactive cells is tempered by the need to avoid the generation of large functional holes in the repertoire of foreign antigen-specific B cells that patrol the periphery. To accomplish this, the immune system must reach a compromise by eliminating only the most dangerous autoreactive clones, while allowing less harmful au­ toreactive B cells to exist in the periphery where they may com­ plement the organism's ability to mount a rapid response against invading micro-organisms. Those autoreactive cells that do enter the peripheral pool are subject to a number of conditional re­ straints that effectively attenuate their ability to respond to self­ antigens. Deleterious alterations in the homeostasis between tolerance induction and recruitment of B cells into the functional repertoire may lead to increased susceptibility to autoimmune disease or infection, respectively. Therefore, delineation of the molecular processes that maintain immunological homeostasis in the B cell compartment is critical.