Tracking immunoglobulin gene editing and transcriptomic changes in GC B cells by single-cell analysis

In response to T cell-dependent antigens, mature B cells are stimulated to form germinal centers, which are the place of B cell affinity maturation and selection. Here, we dissected the heterogeneity of germinal center B cells and reconstructed their pathway of differentiation by integrating single-cell transcriptomic data with the information on immunoglobulin gene editing associated with somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination. Dark zone and light zone B cells were isolated from two donors, and total germinal center B cells were isolated from three donors.