B-Lymphocyte Development and Its Role in the Immune System

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B-lymphocyte development and its role in the immune system Abstract: Plasma cells are differentiated B- lymphocytes (B- cells) that are important for the body for their role in the adaptive immune system. As the final line of defense against pathogens they produce specific antibodies to eliminate or prevent pathogens or diseases in the body. B-cells develop in the bone marrow and are activated in the periphery. This review concentrates on the development of the b-cells into active plasma cells as well as the surface markers which help differentiate between a memory B-cell from a plasma cell and the regulatory molecules that support B-cells to differentiate, proliferate and survive as a plasma cell. Introduction: The human body comes in contact with pathogens on a daily basis and would be helpless to fight them but for the availability of the immune system. The immune system is divided into the innate immune system and the acquired or adaptive immunity. The innate immune system; is the first line of defense against foreign substances, the defense mechanism we are born with and a provider of immediate protection which is non- specific. The adaptive immunity is more complex because it is antigen specific and requires recognition of pathogen before they a response can be sent which may take several days about 4-7 days (1). The key components of the adaptive immune system are the B-cells, antibodies and the T-cells. The lymphocytes (T-cells and B-cells) originate from the bone marrow but the T-cells’ precursors migrate to the thymus to develop while the B-cells complete a large part of their development there (2). Macrophages alert helper T-cells of the presence of pathogens then they activate the killer T-cells which attack cells that have been infected by viruses and the B-cells which produce antibodies to fight foreign substances. When T-cells recognize the

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