Multiple roads to IgE memory: A pluralistic model of IgE immunity

High-affinity, allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) responses play a central role in allergic disease, yet the biological basis of their persistence remains incompletely understood. Studies examining IgE ontogeny have yielded diverse and often conflicting results regarding the longevity of IgE-expressing B cells, their developmental relationship to IgG1⁺ intermediates, and their dependence on germinal center (GC) reactions. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the pathways that regulate the generation and maintenance of high-affinity IgE responses. We focus on how IgE immunity diverges from the classical GC-centered paradigm for the generation of long-lived B cell responses established during acute infection or protein immunization, and we discuss how distinct physiological contexts may help reconcile these discrepancies. Finally, we outline a pluralistic model of IgE memory in which multiple, overlapping developmental pathways sustain allergic memory across tissues and physiological states, providing a conceptual basis for understanding the diversity and persistence of IgE-mediated immunity.