Heterogeneity and function of human B lymphocytes

B lymphocytes represent an important arm of the immune system. Besides their main function of providing antibodies protecting against pathogens, they also exert some regulatory functions, in particular for secondary lymphoid tissue differentiation. Human B cells can be divided in various subsets representing different maturation stages and different pathways of humoral immune responses. Naive IgM(low) IgD(high) CD27(-) B cells can participate in T-cell dependent immune responses leading to germinal center formation in follicles of secondary lymphoid organs. Interactions with follicular helper T cells, Q recently identified CD185(+) T cell population providing help to follicular B cell, involve costimulatory molecules including CD40, CD27, CD278 and SAP-recruiting receptors. B cell interaction with follicular helper T cells represents a critical step controlling the generation of plama cells that ultimately produce high affinity, somatically mutated, class-switched antibodies or of their memory B cell counterpart (identified as CD27(+) Ig switched or IgM(only) B cells). IgM(high) IgD(low) CD27(+) B cells are a puzzling population apparently specialized in T-independent responses to bacterial capsular polysaccharides. The extra-follicular, probably antigen - independent, differentiation pathway of these cells, allowing pre-immune repertoire diversification by somatic hypermutation, is not yet characterized. However, circulating IgM(high) IgD(low) CD27(+) B cells are similar to splenic marginal zone B cells. In addition to these subsets, minor populations can also be identified in peripheral blood, such as transitional B cells and plasma blasts. All together, deciphering human B cell heterogeneity provides tools for investigations of humoral immunodeficiencies and auto-immune diseases, that will in return shed more light on B cell biology.