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B Cell Development Pathways

Click on the different stages of B cell development shown in the illustration below to see the human & mouse markers that can be used to distinguish each cell type.

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Bone Marrow

Hematopoietic
Stem Cell

Multipotent
Progenitor Cell

Common
Lymphoid
Progenitor

B Lymphocyte
Progenitor

Mouse B1
Progenitor

Mouse B2
Progenitor

Pre-Pro B
Cell

Pro-B
Cell

Pro-BCR

Ig
alpha/
beta

Pre-B Cell

Pre-
BCR

Ig alpha/
beta

Immature B Cell

Mature
BCR

Ig alpha/
beta

Spleen

Mouse Transitional
B1 Cell
(from B1 Progenitor)

Memory B Cell

Ig alpha/beta

B1a

B1b

Human
Transitional/
Mouse T1 B Cell
(from B2 Progenitor)

BCR

Ig alpha/
beta

Mouse T2 B Cell

BCR

Ig alpha/
beta

Naive Mature
B Cell

BCR

Long-lived
Plasma Cell

Peripheral Blood

Follicular
B Cell

BCR

Ig alpha/
beta

Marginal
Zone B Cell

BCR

Short-lived Plasma Cell

Activated B Cell

BCR

Ig alpha/
beta

Antigen

Activated Germinal
Center B Cell

Follicular Helper
T Cells

Germinal Center

Spleen, Lymph Nodes,
and Mucosal-Associated
Lymphoid Tissue

Plasmablast

Ig alpha/
beta

BCR

Featured Literature

B Cell Development Poster

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Overview of B Cell Development Pathways

B lymphocytes (B cells) are an integral part of the humoral immune response. They originate from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow, which is seeded during embryonic development by HSCs from the fetal liver. The initial stages of B cell development are antigen-independent and involve the generation of several intermediary precursor cells that arise from B lymphocyte progenitor cells including Pre-Pro-B cells, Pro-B cells, and Pre-B cells, which develop into immature B cells. During these stages of development, B cells undergo immunoglobulin gene rearrangement resulting in the expression of a mature B cell receptor (BCR) that is capable of binding to antigen. This is followed by a selection process that involves BCR editing or clonal deletion, designed to eliminate self-reactive immature B cells. The majority of immature B cells that survive this selection process leave the bone marrow and migrate to the spleen where they differentiate into transitional immature B cells that then become immunocompetent naïve mature B cells. Most naïve B cells develop into follicular B cells, while a small population becomes marginal zone B cells (frequently called IgM memory B cells in human). Following antigen-dependent activation, follicular B cells participate in germinal center reactions where they differentiate into memory B cells or long-lived, antibody-secreting plasma cells. While these developmental stages are similar for human B cells and mouse conventional B2 cells, a second mouse B1 cell lineage has also been described. B1 cells are abundant in the peritoneal cavities and can be further subdivided into B1a and B1b subsets. These along with other B cell precursor cells and functionally distinct subtypes including marginal zone B cells, follicular B cells, memory B cells, plasma cells, and regulatory B cells can be distinguished from each other based on the expression of the cell surface and intracellular markers shown here.

To learn more, please visit our B Cell Research Area..

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