Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 24, 2026

Assessing Somatic Hypermutation in Ramos B Cells after Overexpression or Knockdown of Specific Genes
Published on: November 1, 2011
Age-related decrease in the proportion of germinal center B cells from mouse Peyer's patches is accompanied by an
A González-Fernández1, D Gilmore, C Milstein
1MRC, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge.
Abstract:
Somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes and the generation of memory B cells seems to take place in germinal centers, which are chronically present in Peyer's patches. Age-associated changes in the germinal center B cell compartment of Peyer's patches and in the mutations of a kappa light chain transgene were analyzed in unimmunized mice. Somatic mutations accumulate in germinal center B cells slowly and continuously to reach an apparent plateau when the animals are around 5 months old. In contrast, the proportion of germinal center B cells reaches a maximum in very young mice (about 2 months old) and decreases progressively thereafter. These results suggest that the highly mutated B cells in older mice arise by the successive accumulation of mutations in memory cells. The data also show that the optimum time for the analysis of hypermutation of transgenes in Peyer's patches is when the mice are about 5 months old.
More Related Videos
06:15Characterization of Thymus-dependent and Thymus-independent Immunoglobulin Isotype Responses in Mice Using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay
Published on: September 7, 2018
09:35Analysis of Somatic Hypermutation in the JH4 intron of Germinal Center B cells from Mouse Peyer's Patches
Published on: April 20, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Abnormal Proliferation
Mismatch Repair
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response
Diversity of Antigen Receptors
Before encountering any antigen, lymphocytes express these receptors. On B cells, the antigen receptor is a membrane-bound antibody molecule called BCR; on T cells, it is a T cell receptor or TCR. B and T cell receptors are composed of two...
B Cell Activation and Differentiation
When naive B cells encounter a specific antigen that can bind to the B cell receptor (BCR) on their surface, they undergo sensitization to respond to the antigen's presence. Sensitization begins with...
Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...