Despite the lack of TFH cells and GCs in these mice, memory B cells still developed, consistent with a GC-independent pathway. However, it also suggested that this pathway is independent of TFH cells. T cell help and CD40/CD40L interactions are required for both GC-dependent and GC-independent memory B cell formation, as in the absence of the costimulatory molecule CD40L neither developed. In conclusion, this shows that the early GC-independent and late GC-dependent memory B Fulvestrant cells develop aided by different T helper cell subsets. Ti B cell responses can be

divided into two main groups Ti-1 and Ti-2 based on the type of antigen. Ti-1 antigens, for example, bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), possess an intrinsic activity that can directly induce B cell activation regardless of antigen specificity, and they also provide Selleckchem Compound Library the B cell with a second signal via Toll-like

receptors. Ti-2 antigens, for example, pneumococcal polysaccharide or the model antigen 2,4-dinitrophenyl coupled to dextran (DNP-DE), are highly repetitive structures that cross-link a sufficient number of BCRs to fully activate antigen-specific B cells. Ti-1 antigens can activate both immature and mature B cells, while Ti-2 antigens only activate mature B cells. Ti-2 B cell responses are mainly executed by B1 and MZ B cells [40] and are localized to extrafollicular through foci [41]. For many years, it was believed that responses against Ti antigens could not give rise to immunological memory. Early studies showed that rechallenge with DNP-DE after primary immunization induced a poor anti-DNP antibody response. However, this unresponsiveness was not due to a lack of antigen-specific memory B cells but rather to the production of hapten-specific antibodies that inhibited B cell triggering [42, 43]. In support of this, adoptive transfer of DNP-DE-primed spleen cells to irradiated recipients followed by rechallenge, resulted in an enhanced IgM

response [44]. More recently, it has been shown that B1b cells give rise to memory B cells in response to Ti antigens [45], and also, B1a cells appear to develop memory-like features [46, 47]. Ti memory B cells appear phenotypically different with respect to certain markers compared with Td B memory cells [43]. Autoantibodies are present in mouse models of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), type I diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and contribute to the pathogenicity. However, production of autoantibodies per se does not necessarily induce autoimmune disease [48], rather the complex pathological manifestations of these diseases are under the control of combinations of multiple genes [49].