These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Ligand-independent tonic signaling in B-cell receptor function.
    Author: Monroe JG.
    Journal: Curr Opin Immunol; 2004 Jun; 16(3):288-95. PubMed ID: 15134777.
    Abstract:
    The random and inherently imprecise process of V(D)J recombination is the foundation for generation of the B-cell receptor (BCR). Signals must be generated to trigger selective processes that retain cells expressing a functional BCR, and these signals must be antigen-independent to insure an unbiased and diverse pool of newly formed B cells. Moreover, BCR expression, and presumably signaling, is essential for the continued survival of the B cell. Although BCR signaling is generally thought to depend upon ligand-induced aggregation, recent studies argue that some aspects of BCR signaling occur independently of antigen, and, furthermore, these non-induced or 'tonic' signals are linked to specific cellular processes operating at multiple stages of B-cell development. The potential co-existence of tonic and induced signaling suggests a unique aspect of BCR complexes, or at least an aspect of receptors that has previously been under-appreciated.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]