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Review
. 2022 Sep 8:13:954936.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.954936. eCollection 2022.

Role of B cells as antigen presenting cells

Ichwaku Rastogi  1 , Donghwan Jeon  1 , Jena E Moseman  1 , Anusha Muralidhar  1 , Hemanth K Potluri  1 , Douglas G McNeel  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of B cells as antigen presenting cells

Ichwaku Rastogi et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

B cells have been long studied for their role and function in the humoral immune system. Apart from generating antibodies and an antibody-mediated memory response against pathogens, B cells are also capable of generating cell-mediated immunity. It has been demonstrated by several groups that B cells can activate antigen-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells, and can have regulatory and cytotoxic effects. The function of B cells as professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) to activate T cells has been largely understudied. This, however, requires attention as several recent reports have demonstrated the importance of B cells within the tumor microenvironment, and B cells are increasingly being evaluated as cellular therapies. Antigen presentation through B cells can be through antigen-specific (B cell receptor (BCR) dependent) or antigen non-specific (BCR independent) mechanisms and can be modulated by a variety of intrinsic and external factors. This review will discuss the pathways and mechanisms by which B cells present antigens, and how B cells differ from other professional APCs.

Keywords: B cells; TIL-B; antigen presentation; antigen processing; cellular therapies; professional APC.

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Conflict of interest statement

DM has ownership interest, has received research support, and serves as consultant to Madison Vaccines, Inc., which has licensed intellectual property related to this content. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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