AMONG NAIVE PRECURSOR CELL SUBPOPULATIONS ONLY PROGENITORS OF MEMORY B-CELLS ORIGINATE GERMINAL-CENTERS

Immunization leads to the generation of both antibody-forming cells (AFC) and memory B cells which are thought to arise in germinal centers within lymphoid follicles. The findings that the precursors to memory B cells reside in the J11D(lo) subpopulation of the spleens in non-immune mice and that this subpopulation is distinct from conventional AFC precursors, including CD5+ B cells, suggest that the precursors of germinal centers might also reside in the J11D(lo) subpopulation. To test this hypothesis, SCID mice were repopulated with CD4+ carrier-primed T cells and T-depleted J11D(lo), J11D(hi) or CD5+ B cells and immunized with a hapten-carrier conjugate. Only the J11D(lo) population was enriched for cells that produced germinal centers. Thus, the subpopulation of precursors that generates memory B cells also originates germinal centers.