What is a germinal center?

The germinal center (GC) is a specialized microstructure that forms in secondary lymphoid tissues, producing long-lived antibody secreting plasma cells and memory B cells, which can provide protection against reinfection. A productive GC response requires the collaboration of multiple cell types.

What is the significance of germinal centers?

Germinal centers are an important part of the B cell humoral immune response, acting as central factories for the generation of affinity matured B cells specialized in producing improved antibodies that effectively recognize antigen (e.g. infectious agents), and for the production of long-lived plasma cells and durable …

What are Centrocytes and centroblasts?

The centrocytes may be elongated or spindle shaped. The centroblasts, which typically are a minor population of the tumor, have large, round nuclei with peripherally located basophilic nucleoli and a rim of basophilic cytoplasm.

How are germinal centers formed?

Germinal centers develop in the B cell follicles of secondary lymphoid tissues during T cell-dependent (TD) antibody responses. The B cells that give rise to germinal centers initially have to be activated outside follicles, in the T cell-rich zones in association with interdigitating cells and T cell help.

How do you identify a germinal center?

Germinal centers are commonly observed in BALT and can be visualized by staining for markers of proliferating cells (PCNA or Ki-67) (Rangel-Moreno et al., 2006) or for cell surface markers of germinal center B cells, such as PNA and GL7 (GeurtsvanKessel et al., 2009; Moyron-Quiroz et al., 2004).

What happens in the germinal Centre?

Germinal centres allow memory B cell formation, plasma cell formation, immunoglobulin class switching and leads to the selection of B cells of higher affinity for their cognate antigen (known as affinity maturation).

Are there germinal centers in the thymus?

In summary, our results show that autoimmune BWF1 mice have proliferating B cells in germinal center-like structures within the thymus, which most likely support the differentiation of B cells into anti-dsDNA IgG-secreting plasma cells.

What do B cells do in the germinal center?

Within the B-cell follicle of secondary lymphoid organs, germinal center (GC) reactions produce high affinity antibody-secreting plasma cells (PCs) and memory B-cells necessary for the host’s defense against invading pathogens.

What are Immunoblasts?

Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) are composed of large or medium-sized neoplastic B cells (large noncleaved cells) whose nuclei are slightly larger than a histiocyte nucleus or more than twice the size of a small lymphocyte.

What is a Plasmablast?

In immunology, a “plasmablast” refers to a short-lived differentiation stage between a post germinal centre B-cell and a mature plasma cell. Plasmablasts retain a proliferative capability together with an almost fully mature plasma cell phenotype [1].

What type of cells are found in the germinal center?

Germinal centers are oligoclonal clusters of B cells responding to antigen, typically in T cell-dependent immune responses (Thorbecke et al., 1994). B cells undergo intense clonal expansion in germinal centers, where they ultimately differentiate into long-lived plasma cells or memory B cells.

What does the germinal Centre contain?

What is a germinal center? The germinal center (GC) is a specialized microstructure that forms in secondary lymphoid tissues, producing long-lived antibody secreting plasma cells and memory B cells, which can provide protection against reinfection. A productive GC response requires the collaboration of multiple cell types. What is the significance of germinal centers? Germinal centers…