Figure 8.
NF-κB in B cell activation. NF-κB participates in the maintenance, activation, differentiation and proliferation of naive B cells. Tonic BCR and cytokine, BAFF, stimulation promotes naive B cell maintenance through NF-κB activation. Activation occurs when the naïve B cell recognizes its cognate antigen and receives co-stimulatory signaling (CD40L) from an activated TH cell within the germinal center. NF-κB-dependent proliferation and differentiation ensue and are coupled to BCR affinity maturation. NF-κB signaling in B cells expressing selected BCRs results in class switch recombination and differentiation into either memory B cells or plasma cells. NF-κB supports proliferation, differentiation and survival as indicated (green arrows).