About this Research Topic
B cells are key components of the adaptive immune system. While some B cells have regulatory functions, others serve as antigen-presenting cells and many of the B cells differentiate into plasma cells and produce antibodies against a wide range of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi across all the vertebrates, from fish to humans. In addition, some B cells recognize self-antigens and start to produce autoreactive antibodies, which end up causing autoimmune diseases.
Most of the B cells studies are carried out in peripheral blood cells and they relied on one or few surface markers, limiting the knowledge of the B cell heterogeneity. Furthermore, most of the studies have been focused on a particular ‘default’ B cell type, omitting the possibility of hidden subpopulations or the influence of others. This could be solved by studying single B cell expression and repertoire on particular conditions.
The origin, stages, phenotype, and function of B cells have still many gaps in health and disease status. The emergence of cutting-edge technologies such as single-cell sequencing technologies allows investigating the B cell heterogeneity in depth to effectively apply therapeutic strategies helping to prevent disease progression and building a robust map of the B cell diversity.
The goal of this Research Topic is to address unanswered questions in the B cells fields, including but not limited to B cell origin, diversity, new functions, mechanisms of pathogenicity caused by microorganisms as well as autoimmune diseases. We welcome the submission of Original Research and Mini Review articles on single B cell biology in any organism, including fish, mouse and human, related to the subtopics listed below. The use of functional assays combined with computational tools such as Monocle or Velocity to address B cell dynamics and evolution is encouraged. Last, studies that involve single BCR repertoire to answer some B cell-mediated mechanisms could also be of interest.
• Define a precise phenotype of B cells in a tissue-dependent manner.
• Highlight the phenotype and function of new/refined B cell populations and their interactions with other immune cells.
• Develop a comprehensive knowledge of B cell diversity in health and disease status at single cell level.
• Study the dynamic of the development of specific B cell clusters.
• Investigate the origin of the different sources of B cells such as B1 and B2 cells.
• Establish correspondence between protein and gene expression level on B cell types.
• Unravel the BCR repertoire at single-cell level in particular conditions.
Most of the B cells studies are carried out in peripheral blood cells and they relied on one or few surface markers, limiting the knowledge of the B cell heterogeneity. Furthermore, most of the studies have been focused on a particular ‘default’ B cell type, omitting the possibility of hidden subpopulations or the influence of others. This could be solved by studying single B cell expression and repertoire on particular conditions.
The origin, stages, phenotype, and function of B cells have still many gaps in health and disease status. The emergence of cutting-edge technologies such as single-cell sequencing technologies allows investigating the B cell heterogeneity in depth to effectively apply therapeutic strategies helping to prevent disease progression and building a robust map of the B cell diversity.
The goal of this Research Topic is to address unanswered questions in the B cells fields, including but not limited to B cell origin, diversity, new functions, mechanisms of pathogenicity caused by microorganisms as well as autoimmune diseases. We welcome the submission of Original Research and Mini Review articles on single B cell biology in any organism, including fish, mouse and human, related to the subtopics listed below. The use of functional assays combined with computational tools such as Monocle or Velocity to address B cell dynamics and evolution is encouraged. Last, studies that involve single BCR repertoire to answer some B cell-mediated mechanisms could also be of interest.
• Define a precise phenotype of B cells in a tissue-dependent manner.
• Highlight the phenotype and function of new/refined B cell populations and their interactions with other immune cells.
• Develop a comprehensive knowledge of B cell diversity in health and disease status at single cell level.
• Study the dynamic of the development of specific B cell clusters.
• Investigate the origin of the different sources of B cells such as B1 and B2 cells.
• Establish correspondence between protein and gene expression level on B cell types.
• Unravel the BCR repertoire at single-cell level in particular conditions.
Keywords: B cells; heterogeneity; repertoire; differentiation; single cells
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
