Naturally acquired iummunity against clinical malaria is slow to develop, taking years of repeated exposure to parasites to acquire sufficiently broad and potent antibody responses. Increasing evidence suggests that Plasmodium infection and the resulting immune stimulation contribute to changes in the B cell compartment. In particular, accumulation of atypical memory B cells (atMBCs) is common in Plasmodium-exposed individuals. Similarities to B cell subsets present in other acute and chronic disease settings have provided insight into the development and potential function of these cells; however, their contribution to protection against malaria is still poorly understood. Here, we discuss recent findings that have increased our understanding of atMBCs and outline outstanding questions related to their function and development in the protective immune response to malaria.

针对临床疟疾的天然免疫力发展缓慢，需要多年反复接触寄生虫才能获得足够广泛和有效的抗体反应。越来越多的证据表明，疟原虫感染和由此产生的免疫刺激会导致 B 细胞区室的变化。特别是，非典型记忆 B 细胞 (atMBC) 的积累在疟原虫暴露个体中很常见。与其他急性和慢性疾病环境中存在的 B 细胞亚群的相似性使我们能够深入了解这些细胞的发育和潜在功能；然而，人们对它们对预防疟疾的贡献仍知之甚少。在这里，我们讨论了最近的发现，这些发现增加了我们对 atMBC 的了解，并概述了与其在疟疾保护性免疫反应中的功能和发展相关的突出问题。