Erschienen in:
01.03.2005 | Original Article
Human innate B cells: a link between host defense and autoimmunity?
verfasst von:
Eric C. B. Milner, Jennifer Anolik, Amedeo Cappione, Iñaki Sanz
Erschienen in:
Seminars in Immunopathology
|
Ausgabe 4/2005
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Abstract
B cells play a variety of immunoregulatory roles through their antigen-presentation ability and through cytokine and chemokine production. Innate immune activation of B cells may play a beneficial role through the generation of natural cross-reactive antibodies, by maintaining B cell memory and by exercising immunomodulatory functions that may provide protection against autoimmunity. In this article, we review human B cell populations and their functional properties, with a particular focus on a population of inherently autoreactive B cells, which seem to play an important physiological role in innate immunity, but which, if selected into adaptive immune responses, appear to become pathogenic agents in systemic lupus erythematosus.