Selection events in directing B cell development

Homeostasis in the B cell compartment (as well as in T cells) is controlled by tightly regulated selection events. Throughout their life span, B cells are subjected to selection signals determining not only developmental progression, but also maturation and survival. It is now clear that most of these signals require the expression of B cell antigen receptor (or preB receptor) with functional signaling capacity. The administration of numerous mutations into the mouse germline enabled us to identify several checkpoints along the B cell developmental pathway, and provided us with powerful experimental tools to probe for selection events regulating developmental progression. In here, we will discuss recent studies in this field.