An immune-cell lineage associated with antibody responses. Lineage-specific proliferation and clonal expansion should be distinguished from changes in a mixed sample.
A B cell displays an antigen-binding receptor and can differentiate into an antibody-secreting plasma cell or a memory biological population. Activation selects and expands particular binding specificities, allowing a rare lineage to contribute substantially to an immune response. [ref]
A plasma cell is an antibody-secreting differentiated B cell. Extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum and a developed Golgi apparatus support the production and secretion of large amounts of antibody. Recognition of a particular antigen is inherited from the activated B cell lineage; cell differentiation changes the secretory programme rather than inventing specificity from scratch. Long-lived plasma cells can maintain antibody production after the initiating response has subsided. [ref]
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