How B Cells May Generate Antibodies After Vaccination

At the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, Steve Reiner, MD, professor of Medicine, and Burton Barnett, a doctoral student, have shown how immune cells, called B lymphocytes, can produce daughter cells that are different from one another. This finding may explain how lifelong antibodies are made after vaccination. The researchers demonstrated that T cells form temporary attachment to B cells, which induce the B cells to divide, resulting in daughter cells that are different on the level of the proteins that they inherit. This discovery could be used to produce better vaccines.

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215141623.htm