Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Nat Rev Immunol. 2022 Jan;22(1):7-18. doi: 10.1038/s41577-021-00657-1. Epub 2021 Dec 6.
The germinal centre (GC) response is critical for the generation of affinity-matured plasma cells and memory B cells capable of mediating long-term protective immunity. Understanding whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or vaccination elicits a GC response has profound implications for the capacity of responding B cells to contribute to protection against infection. However, direct assessment of the GC response in humans remains a major challenge. Here we summarize emerging evidence for the importance of the GC response in the establishment of durable and broad immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and discuss new approaches to modulate the GC response to better protect against newly 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.
生发中心（GC）反应对于产生亲和力成熟的浆细胞和记忆 B 细胞至关重要，这些细胞能够介导长期的保护性免疫。了解严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）感染或疫苗接种是否引发 GC 反应，对 B 细胞应对感染的能力产生深远影响。然而，直接评估人类的 GC 反应仍然是一个主要挑战。在这里，我们总结了 GC 反应在建立对 SARS-CoV-2 的持久和广泛免疫中的重要性的新证据，并讨论了调节 GC 反应以更好地预防新出现的 SARS-CoV-2 变体的新方法。我们还讨论了新的发现，表明在接种 SARS-CoV-2 mRNA 疫苗后，一些人的引流淋巴结中的 GC B 细胞反应至少持续 6 个月。
