Maturation of the human B-cell receptor repertoire with age

B cells play a central role in adaptive immune processes, mainly through the production of antibodies. The maturation of the B-cell system with age is poorly studied. We extensively investigated age-related alterations of naïve and antigen-experienced B-cell receptor (BCR) repertoires. The most significant changes were observed in the first 10 years of life, and were characterized by altered immunoglobulin gene usage and an increased frequency of mutated antibodies structurally diverging from their germline precursors. Older age was associated with an increased usage of downstream constant region genes and fewer antibodies with self-reactive properties. As mutations accumulated with age, the frequency of germline-encoded self-reactive antibodies decreased, indicating a possible beneficial role of self-reactive B-cells in the developing immune system. Our results suggest a continuous process of change through childhood across a broad range of parameters characterizing BCR repertoires and stress the importance of using well-selected, age-appropriate controls in BCR studies

Keywords

Antibody, B cells, B-cell receptor, Children, Maturation, Repertoire

Subject (DDC)

600 - Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften

Project

Event

Exhibition start date

Exhibition end date

Conference start date

Conference end date

Date of the last check

20.12.2019

ISBN

ISSN

Language

English

Created during FHNW affiliation

Yes

Strategic action fields FHNW

Publication status

Preprint

Review

No peer review

Open access category

Green

License

Citation

Ghraichy, M., Galson, J. D., Kovaltsuk, A., Niederhäusern, V. v., Schmid, J. P., Recher, M., Jauch, A. J., Miho, E., Kelly, D. F., Deane, C. M., & Trück, J. (2019). Maturation of the human B-cell receptor repertoire with age. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/609651

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