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Lifetime of plasma cells in the bone marrow

Abstract

Immune protection is based on long-lived memory cells and effector cells, which are either cytotoxic or secrete antibodies. The lifespan of these effector cells has not so far been determined. Here we show that antibody-secreting plasma cells from bone marrow are as long-lived as memory B cells.

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Figure 1: Lifetime analysis of antibody-secreting plasma cells.

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Manz, R., Thiel, A. & Radbruch, A. Lifetime of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Nature 388, 133–134 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/40540

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