{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: B cell fate mapping reveals their contribution to the memory immune response against helminths.
{Author}: Haase P;Schäfer S;Gerlach RG;Winkler TH;Voehringer D;
{Journal}: Front Immunol
{Volume}: 13
{Issue}: 0
{Year}: 2022
{Factor}: 8.786
{DOI}: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1016142
{Abstract}: An estimated quarter of the human world population is infected with gastrointestinal helminths causing major socioeconomic problems in endemic countries. A better understanding of humoral immune responses against helminths is urgently needed to develop effective vaccination strategies. Here, we used a fate mapping (FM) approach to mark germinal center (GC) B cells and their developmental fates by induced expression of a fluorescent protein during infection of mice with the helminth Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. We could show that FM+ cells persist weeks after clearance of the primary infection mainly as CD80+CD73+PD-L2+ memory B cells. A secondary infection elicited expansion of helminth-specific memory B cells and plasma cells (PCs). Adoptive transfers and analysis of somatic mutations in immunoglobulin genes further revealed that FM+ B cells rapidly convert to PCs rather than participating again in a GC reaction. These results provide new insights in the population dynamics of the humoral immune response against helminths.