Description
This book meets the demand of a recent surge of interest in germinal centers, the foci of antigen-induced, rapidly proliferating B lymphocytes, representing sites in mammalian lymphoid tissue where memory B cells are generated. Various aspects of the generation of germinal centers, the somatic hypermutation process and the cellular interactions involved in the selection process are discussed in detail. A chapter on germinal center-derived lymphomas completes the treatment. 1. Overview of Germinal Center Function and Structure in Normal and Genetically Engineered Mice.- 2. The Germinal Center Reaction: Influence of FDC Function in Normal, Aged, and Retrovirus Infected Hosts.- 3. T and B Lymphocytes in Germinal Centers.- 4. Somatic Hypermutation of Immunoglobulin Genes.- 5. Germinal Center Derived Lymphomas in Humans and Mice.- Color Figures.
