Data from: Lineage tracing of human B cells reveals the in vivo landscape of human antibody class switching

Antibody class switching is a feature of the adaptive immune system which
enables diversification of the effector properties of antibodies. Even
though class switching is essential for mounting a protective response to
pathogens, the in vivo patterns and lineage characteristics of antibody
class switching have remained uncharacterized in living humans. Here we
comprehensively measured the landscape of antibody class switching in
human adult twins using antibody repertoire sequencing. The map identifies
how antibodies of every class are created and delineates a two-tiered
hierarchy of class switch pathways. Using somatic hypermutations as a
molecular clock, we discovered that closely related B cells often switch
to the same class, but lose coherence as somatic mutations accumulate.
Such correlations between closely related cells exist when purified B
cells class switch in vitro, suggesting that class switch recombination is
directed toward specific isotypes by a cell-autonomous imprinted state.