{"id":992,"date":"2026-02-04T15:47:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T15:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/?p=992"},"modified":"2026-02-04T15:47:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T15:47:57","slug":"determining-whether-the-persistence-of-the-gc-following-vaccination-is-associated-with-enhanced-protective-immunity-as-well-as-understanding-the-mechanisms-underlying-the-persistence-of-the-g","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/?p=992","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffDetermining whether the persistence of the GC following vaccination is associated with enhanced protective immunity as well as understanding the mechanisms underlying the persistence of the GC will be important in evaluating the necessity of additional booster vaccines"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ufeffDetermining whether the persistence of the GC following vaccination is associated with enhanced protective immunity as well as understanding the mechanisms underlying the persistence of the GC will be important in evaluating the necessity of additional booster vaccines. Another key unanswered question is whether SARS-CoV-2 vaccination induces a B cell response in mucosal tissues. emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. We also discuss new findings showing that the GC B cell response persists in the draining lymph nodes for at least 6 months in some individuals following vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines. Subject terms:Germinal centres, Immunological memory In this Review, Brian Laidlaw and Ali Ellebedy outline our current understanding of the germinal centre response in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and its importance for establishing protective immunity against the virus. They also consider the germinal centre responses seen following vaccination and how germinal centre responses may be modulated to induce broad protection against new variants of SARS-CoV-2. == Introduction == During an immune response, B cells that encounter their cognate antigen become activated and migrate to the centre of the B cell follicle, where they form structures known as germinal centres (GCs)1. Within the GC, B cells compete for a limiting amount of T cell-derived signals, such as cytokines and CD40 ligand, that promote their migration from the light zone to the dark zone2. The magnitude of T cell help received by a B cell in the light zone dictates the extent of cell division and somatic hypermutation that occurs within the dark zone3,4. B cells that accrue productive mutations within their B cell receptor preferentially capture and present antigens to T cells upon their return to the light zone, facilitating their eventual differentiation into memory B cells or plasma cells2,5,6. Data generated in mouse models suggest that memory B cells tend to emerge from the GC before plasma cells and, accordingly, display reduced levels of somatic hypermutation79. Memory B cells persist for years to decades and rapidly differentiate into antibody-secreting cells upon antigen re-encounter10,11. Following antigen re-encounter, memory B cells can also re-enter the GC, where they undergo further affinity maturation11. The reduced mutational load of memory B cells could facilitate their ability to recognize and respond to viral variants, with the memory B cell population in humans containing clones that are broadly reactive to several pathogens, including influenza virus and HIV12,13. By contrast, plasma cells are a terminally differentiated population of cells that tend to be specific for PF-04991532<\/a> the subtype PF-04991532 of virus previously encountered. Plasma cells persist in sites such as the bone marrow and serve as a first line of defence against pathogen reinfection through constitutive secretion of antibodies1416. In this manner, memory B cells and plasma cells cooperate to provide overlapping layers of protection against reinfection by the pathogen or related variants. The quality of the B cell response following PF-04991532 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection determines the duration and breadth of protective immunity. While SARS-CoV-2 infection induces a durable B cell response, antibody levels decay over time, raising the risk that immunity may wane as the neutralizing antibody titre decreases below the threshold needed to protect against reinfection1721. SARS-CoV-2 reinfection has been observed among some previously infected individuals, raising the possibility that infection-induced immunity against SARS-CoV-2 may be short-lived, as is the case for seasonal coronaviruses2228. However, it is not yet clear whether the dynamics of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 will follow the same patterns reported for other coronaviruses. Additionally, the development and widespread use of mRNA-based and vector-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is likely to profoundly impact the duration of protective immunity2932. It is particularly important to determine the B cell response following mRNA-based and adenovirus vector-based vaccinations considering that these platforms have not previously been widely used in humans33(Box1). Mouse monoclonal to HK2<\/a> mRNA-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have shown 9495% efficacy against symptomatic disease and 90% efficacy in preventing asymptomatic infection at 12 weeks after vaccination29,30,3437. While total SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titres wane over time following vaccination, neutralizing antibody titres and protection against hospitalization and death persist at high levels for at least 6 months38,39. However, key questions remain regarding the duration of protective immunity following mRNA-based vaccination and whether antibodies induced by vaccination will protect against reinfection by SARS-CoV-2 variants. Considerable progress has been made in elucidating the B cell response following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Here we examine emerging evidence that establishment of a robust GC response is critical for the induction of durable protective immunity. We also summarize new data showing that SARS-CoV-2 vaccination induces a GC B cell response that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\ufeffDetermining whether the persistence of the GC following vaccination is associated with enhanced protective immunity as well as understanding the mechanisms underlying the persistence of the GC will be important in evaluating the necessity of additional booster vaccines. Another key unanswered question is whether SARS-CoV-2 vaccination induces a B cell response in mucosal tissues. emerging …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pkd","entry entry-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":993,"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/992\/revisions\/993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cetaitdemain.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}