Somatic hypermutation regulation

As compared to DCs, B cells are very poor APCs and play a major role as source for antibodies. Upon stimulation by antigens and in the presence of T cells at the border of the T-cell-B-cell area, adjacent to follicles, B cells become antibody-secreting cells and eventually form a germinal center (GC) response. GCs are specialized follicles for B-cell expansion, somatic hypermutation, and class switch recombination, processes that are regulated by T cells, follicular DCs, and other cells. In this process of B-cell maturation, Tregs seem to play a critical role, as in several immune diseases, which are characterized by aberrant antibody... 

Betz, A.G., Milstein, C., Gonzilez-Femindez, A., Pannell, R., Larson, T., Neuberger, M.S. (1994). Elements regulating somatic hypermutation of an immunoglobulin k gene critical role for the intron enhancer/matrix attachment region. Cell 77,239-248. 

Besmer, E., Gourzi, P., Papavasiliou, F.N. The regulation of somatic hypermutation. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 2004, 16, 241-245. 

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