The making of a professional secretory cell: architectural and functional changes in the ER during B lymphocyte

Luigina Tagliavacca1, Tiziana Anelli, Claudio Fagioli

  • 1Università Vita-Salute, San Raffaele, Italy.

Biological Chemistry
|October 1, 2003
PubMed

B lymphocytes are small cells that express antigen receptors and secrete little if any IgM. Upon encounter with antigen, they differentiate into short-lived plasma cells, which secrete large amounts of polymeric IgM. Plasma cell differentiation entails a massive development of the endoplasmic reticulum to sustain high levels of Ig production. Recent findings suggest a role for the unfolded protein response in orchestrating the architectural and functional changes during terminal plasma cell differentiation.

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