Hello every one,
My question is based on the definition of memory B cells below:
"The immune system can remember a previously experienced pathogen and can evoke an enhanced response to reinfection that depends on memory lymphocyte populations".
Do memory B cells continue to produce antibodies in the absence of a re-infection?
If yes, for how long?
I will be grateful to hear from you.
Thanks
B memory cells are there and they maintain persistence specific elevated antibodies life time.if new antigen trigger is there stimulated B cells cause production of antibodies.so in immunocompetent individual s b cells produce antibodies for life time.
I think memory b cells continue to produce antibodies even when there is absence of an infection but at v low amounts
read this (attached) and other similar articles
All the best
The paper attached above is old, but (I think) in general describe the situation rather well.
However, the critical thing to understand is that long-term B cell mediated immunity is made up of two separate arms - antigen-specific long-lived plasma cells and long-lived memory B cells that form after a first encounter with antigen.
The long-lived plasma cells occupy specific niches in the bone marrow and mucosal tissues and produce secreted antibodies in serum and body fluids. These antibodies can be measured and the amount is often used to determine if someone is immune or not (i.e. if the titre of antibodies is sufficiently high to protect from infection). Thus, someone that has had measles will produce antibodies against measles for the rest of their life from such long-lived cells, and these antibodies will ensure that you do not get infected again since they bind the pathogen. However, these cells do not appear to respond to antigen, but only passively produce antibodies. For this reason, these are strictly speaking not memory cells, since they do not respond to reinfection, but they still maintain immunity (i.e. protection from infection).
The other arm, the memory cells, do not produce secreted antibodies but have cell membrane-bound antibody receptors that can recognise antigen. If this happens, the cells are rapidly activated and become short-lived (at most weeks) and long-lived (up to for life) plasma cells after a short period of proliferation. This ensures that we respond to a reinfection that has broken through the defence of the pre-existing secreted antibodies, and will result in an increase in antibodies. This "secondary" response is stronger than the "primary" response. These are strictly speaking the only memory cells, since they respond to antigen.
Thus, to answer your question - some long-lived plasma cells may produce secreted antibodies for life, and these are important for protection against disease (immunity). But memory B cells, that are also present for life, only produce small amounts of membrane-bound antibodies that are not secreted. However, they can be activated by a second dose of antigen. In this case, the amounts of antibodies against the infection will increase sharply as the memory cells become plasma cells.
although it is very interest point, but as I know, there is no clear cut time for memory B lymphocyte producimg antibody. the recorded time was 35 year for anti-measles virus.
Kindly check
https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2018/10/02/stanford-immunologist-pushes-field-to-shift-its-research-focus-from-mice-to-humans/?linkId=57668635
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