Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Immunol. 2019 Mar 4;40(4):345–357. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2019.01.012

Figure 1: Plasma cells derive from three distinct pathways.

Figure 1:

A schematic representation of plasma cell (PC) formation pathways is shown. Naïve B cells can be directly activated by antigen and undergo class switch recombination (CSR) without T cell help, forming unmutated PCs. Alternately, T helper (TH) cells can activate B cells through cognate contact, and direct CSR via secreted factors. Higher antigen affinity B cells are directed to form extrafollicular PCs while lower affinity B cells can enter a germinal center (GC) reaction. GC B cells undergo iterative rounds of somatic hypermutation under the direction of follicular T helper cells (TFH). B cells with highest affinity are selected for survival, exiting the GC as memory B cells and follicular PCs. T cell help and CSR likely imprint distinct transcriptional programs that can influence B cell fate and function.