The ageing human B cell repertoire: a failure of selection?

What is it about?

B cells produce antibodies and both the B cells, and the antibodies they produce, are very important in protecting us from infections. We have a very large number of different B cells so that we can recognise a large number of potential challenges. As a result of this we need a mechanism to make sure that the B cells don't recognise self - which would put us at risk of developing autoimmune disease. So during B cell development there are both negative and positive selection influences on the repertoire of possible B cells. In this review I discuss the evidence suggesting that these selective influences change in older people.

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Why is it important?

We need to find ways to improve the immune system of older people. Thinking about the B cell repertoire in ageing as something that can be shaped by a failure of selective processes will lead future work on ageing B cell immunology to look carefully at the mechanisms of selection

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