Infection and Immunity Program and The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Immunol Rev. 2019 Mar;288(1):75-84. doi: 10.1111/imr.12733.
The humoral immune response requires coordination of molecular programs to mediate differentiation into unique B cell subsets that help clear the infection and form immune memory. Epigenetic modifications are crucial for ensuring that the appropriate genes are transcribed or repressed during B cell differentiation. Recent studies have illuminated the changes in DNA methylation and histone post-translational modifications that accompany the formation of germinal center and antibody-secreting cells during an immune response. In particular, the B cell subset-specific expression and function of DNA methyltransferases and histone-modifying complexes that mediate epigenome changes have begun to be unravelled. This review will discuss the recent advances in this field, as well as highlight critical questions about the relationship between epigenetic regulation and B cell fate and function that are yet to be answered.
体液免疫应答需要协调分子程序，以介导分化为独特的 B 细胞亚群，帮助清除感染并形成免疫记忆。表观遗传修饰对于确保 B 细胞分化过程中适当的基因被转录或抑制至关重要。最近的研究阐明了在免疫应答过程中形成生发中心和抗体分泌细胞时伴随的 DNA 甲基化和组蛋白翻译后修饰的变化。特别是，介导表观基因组变化的 B 细胞亚群特异性表达和功能的 DNA 甲基转移酶和组蛋白修饰复合物已开始被揭示。本文将讨论该领域的最新进展，并强调关于表观遗传调控与 B 细胞命运和功能之间关系的尚未解决的关键问题。
