B cell development and its deregulation to transformed states at the pre-B cell receptor-expressing pre-BII cell

F Melchers1

  • 1Department of Cell Biology, Biozentrum of the University of Basel, Switzerland. fritz.melchers@unibas.ch

This chapter will review the scenario of normal B cell development--from the decision of a lymphoid progenitor to enter the B-lineage, over the stages of the generation of the repertoires of antigen-receptor (immunoglobulin)-expressing cells, to the response of mature B cells to develop memory and plasma cells--highlighting some of the cellular stages and the molecular mechanisms that can generate and select transformed states of cells. The scenarios for pre-B lymphoma (lymphocytic leukaemia) development are discussed in more detail.

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