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Establishment and functional implications of B-cell connectivity
D Holmberg1, A Andersson, L Carlsson
1Institute for Applied Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Umeå, Sweden.
We have discussed some aspects of the structure of the normal immune system, particularly the B-cell compartment. We have argued: that a basic property of the natural antibody repertoire is constituted by high degrees of connectivity within the immune system as well as between the system and other components of the organism; that the complementarities constituting this connectivity are based on self-self interactions, high degrees of degeneracy or somatically selected interactions and that these properties are conserved through evolution, to ensure self-reference; that by evolutionary selection, antibody V-genes encoding such structural properties are ensured to be expressed early in ontogeny. The set of highly connected cells will be kept through ontogeny and form the basis for a compartment of naturally-activated lymphocytes making up 10-15% of the total lymphocyte population. As suggested before, this pool of connected cells may be responsible for maintenance of normal network dynamics and prevention of autoaggression.
We have discussed some aspects of the structure of the normal immune system, particularly the B-cell compartment. We have argued: that a basic property of the natural antibody repertoire is constituted by high degrees of connectivity within the immune system as well as between the system and other components of the organism; that the complementarities constituting this connectivity are based on self-self interactions, high degrees of degeneracy or somatically selected interactions and that these properties are conserved through evolution, to ensure self-reference; that by evolutionary selection, antibody V-genes encoding such structural properties are ensured to be expressed early in ontogeny. The set of highly connected cells will be kept through ontogeny and form the basis for a compartment of naturally-activated lymphocytes making up 10-15% of the total lymphocyte population. As suggested before, this pool of connected cells may be responsible for maintenance of normal network dynamics and prevention of autoaggression.