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Self-tolerance in B lymphocytes
1Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia 2006.
Normally the immune system does not produce pathogenic antibodies to autologous antigens, due to induction of self-tolerance in both the T and B lymphocyte repertoires. The aim of this paper is to review the evidence for self-tolerance within the B cell repertoire, and the range of possible mechanisms responsible for it. In practice, the mechanism of B cell tolerance to autologous antigens in vivo remains controversial, and may in fact vary (depending on the nature of the self antigen and the properties of the self-reactive B cell. Recent work in transgenic mouse models of B cell tolerance has helped to assimilate the numerous and sometimes disparate findings from other models, firstly by allowing direct visualization of the fate of self-reactive B cells in vivo, and secondly, by enabling systematic genetic changes to be made either in the self antigen or in the self-reactive B cell.
Normally the immune system does not produce pathogenic antibodies to autologous antigens, due to induction of self-tolerance in both the T and B lymphocyte repertoires. The aim of this paper is to review the evidence for self-tolerance within the B cell repertoire, and the range of possible mechanisms responsible for it. In practice, the mechanism of B cell tolerance to autologous antigens in vivo remains controversial, and may in fact vary (depending on the nature of the self antigen and the properties of the self-reactive B cell. Recent work in transgenic mouse models of B cell tolerance has helped to assimilate the numerous and sometimes disparate findings from other models, firstly by allowing direct visualization of the fate of self-reactive B cells in vivo, and secondly, by enabling systematic genetic changes to be made either in the self antigen or in the self-reactive B cell.
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