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The B-cell receptor (BCR) is a transmembrane protein on the surface of a B cell. A B-cell receptor includes both CD79 and the immunoglobulin. The plasma membrane of a B cell is indicated by the green phospholipids. The B- cell receptor extends both outside the cell (above the plasma membrane) and inside the cell (below the membrane).
Class switching occurs after activation of a mature B cell via its membrane-bound antibody molecule (or B cell receptor) to generate the different classes of antibody, all with the same variable domains as the original antibody generated in the immature B cell during the process of V(D)J recombination, but possessing distinct constant domains in their heavy chains.
B cells, unlike the other two classes of lymphocytes, T cells and natural killer cells, express B cell receptors (BCRs) on their cell membrane. [1] BCRs allow the B cell to bind to a foreign antigen, against which it will initiate an antibody response. [1] B cell receptors are extremely specific, with all BCRs on a B cell recognizing the same ...
V(D)J recombination (variable–diversity–joining rearrangement) is the mechanism of somatic recombination that occurs only in developing lymphocytes during the early stages of T and B cell maturation. It results in the highly diverse repertoire of antibodies/immunoglobulins and T cell receptors (TCRs) found in B cells and T cells, respectively.
The "upper" part of an antibody. The complementarity-determining regions of the heavy chain are shown in red (Complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) are polypeptide segments of the variable chains in immunoglobulins (antibodies) and T cell receptors, generated by B-cells and T-cells respectively. CDRs are where these molecules bind to their ...
The antibody isotype of a B cell changes during cell development and activation. Immature B cells, which have never been exposed to an antigen, express only the IgM isotype in a cell surface bound form. The B lymphocyte, in this ready-to-respond form, is known as a "naive B lymphocyte." The naive B lymphocyte expresses both surface IgM and IgD.
In the immune system, membrane-bound antibodies are the B-cell receptor (BCR). Also, while the T-cell receptor is not biochemically classified as an antibody, it serves a similar function in that it specifically binds to epitopes complexed with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules.
Immune complexes can also play a role in the regulation of antibody production. B cells express B-cell receptors (BCRs) on their surfaces and antigen binding to these receptors begins a signaling cascade that leads to activation. B cells also express FcγRIIb, low affinity receptors specific to the constant region of IgG, on their surfaces.