Student Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2006
Document Type
Thesis
RU Laboratory
Nussenzweig Laboratory
Keywords
polysaccharide antigens, immunologic memory, type II antigens, memory B cells
Abstract
Immunologic memory is the ability of the immune system to generate an enhanced antibody response against previously encountered antigens. The clonal selection theory of acquired immunity attributes immunologic memory to the formation of an expanded compartment of quiescent antigen-specific memory B cells that are capable of rapid activation upon secondary antigen encounter. Whereas protein antigens are known to elicit memory B cells, it is not known whether polysaccharide antigens do. Here we report that polysaccharide antigens elicit memory B cells that are phenotypically distinct from those elicited by protein antigens. We show that antigen affinity of the B cell receptor regulates the development of memory B cells and that antigen-specific IgG antibodies suppress recall responses against polysaccharides via a mechanism that does not depend on epitope masking or involve known Fey receptors.
Permanent URL
http://hdl.handle.net/10209/237
Recommended Citation
Obukhanych, Tetyana V., "Immunologic Memory to Polysaccharide Antigens" (2006). Student Theses and Dissertations. 59.
https://digitalcommons.rockefeller.edu/student_theses_and_dissertations/59
Comments
A thesis presented to the faculty of The Rockefeller University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.