Study finds that microbes influence B-cell development in the gut

Gut bacteria exert a dramatic, systemic effect on the development of the immune system's B-lymphocytes, according to a new mouse study by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital. While influences of gut bacteria on T-lymphocytes have been noted before, this is the first time that researchers have documented early B-cell development in the gut and that microbes influence this process.

Starting at birth, the immune system programs immature B-cells to produce antibodies against a wide array of potentially pathogenic antigens by shuffling genes for different antibody components. This shuffling process, called V(D)J recombination, depends on a factor called RAG, which results in an immense number of B-cells that collectively are able to respond to a diverse repertoire of antigens that the immune system has yet to encounter.

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Study finds that microbes influence B-cell development in the gut

Source: MedicalXpress
Image credits: Duane Wesemann

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