Role of affinity in plasma cell development in the germinal center light zone

Protective immune responses to many pathogens depend on the development of high affinity antibody-producing plasma cells in germinal centers. Transgenic models suggest that there is a stringent affinity-based barrier to plasma cell development. Whether a similar high affinity barrier regulates plasma cell development under physiologic circumstances, and the nature of the plasma cell fate decision has not been defined precisely. Here we use a fate mapping approach to examine the relationship between germinal center (GC) B cells selected to undergo additional rounds of affinity maturation, germinal center pre-plasma cells and plasma cells. The data show that initial plasma cell selection overlaps with germinal center B cell selection, but that the plasma cell compartment accumulates a less diverse and higher affinity collection of antibodies over time. Thus, whereas the GC continues to diversify over time, affinity-based pre-plasma cell selection sieves the germinal center to enable accumulation of a more restricted group of high affinity antibody secreting plasma cells. Overall design: c-Myc-GFP or C57Bl6/J male mice were immunized with NP-Ova in Alhydrogel and GC B cells (LZ and DZ) and Plasma cells were FACS-sorted on day 14