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B lymphocyte
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The B lymphocyte, or B cell, is one of the body's defense cells. It belongs to adaptive immunity, the part of the immune system that learns, and it is the main driver of humoral immunity, the kind that works with antibodies.
It arises from hematopoietic stem cells, the ones that give rise to blood cells, and it matures mostly in the bone marrow. It can do two things: tell self from nonself, so it does not mistake the body's own cells for an invader, and store memory of the antigen, meaning the marker that identifies that invader. It is a file with a single card in it: the one visitor who already came through.
Because of that memory, if the antigen returns, the response arrives faster and works better. And in the lymph node, B lymphocytes cluster into follicles.
In brief
The B lymphocyte is an essential part of adaptive immunity and the main driver of humoral immunity, the kind that works through antibodies.
It arises from hematopoietic stem cells and matures mostly in the bone marrow; it can tell self from nonself and store memory of an antigen.
That memory makes the response faster and more effective if the antigen returns; in the lymph node, B cells cluster into follicles.
It is a file with a single card in it: the one visitor who already came through.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHistology, B-Cell Lymphocyte, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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