Figure 2.

Simplified life cycle of B cells

After immune activation, some B cells can differentiate directly into antibody-secreting plasmablasts and early memory B cells. Others will enter a germinal center (GC) reaction, where the diversification and specialization pathways of somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class-switch recombination (CSR) enhance antibody specificity and functionality. Antibody-secreting plasmablasts and long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs), as well as memory B cells, emerge from the GC. Recall responses from memory B cells (pink arrows) can then re-enter the GC or directly differentiate into both LLPCs and short-lived plasmablasts.