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Heavy-chain directed B-cell maturation: continuous clonal selection beginning at the pre-B cell stage
1Dept of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111.
A number of laboratories have demonstrated a biased representation of certain V-region segments in the primary B-cell repertoire. This may reflect clonal selection at the pre-B cell stage of differentiation. Here, Robert Schwartz and David Stollar suggest that pre-B cells undergo positive selection directed by the presence of surface heavy chain with low affinity to autoantigen. This mechanism would account for the anti-self property of the pre-immune B-cell repertoire.
A number of laboratories have demonstrated a biased representation of certain V-region segments in the primary B-cell repertoire. This may reflect clonal selection at the pre-B cell stage of differentiation. Here, Robert Schwartz and David Stollar suggest that pre-B cells undergo positive selection directed by the presence of surface heavy chain with low affinity to autoantigen. This mechanism would account for the anti-self property of the pre-immune B-cell repertoire.