Antibody-secreting plasma cells are a central component of short- and long-term adaptive immunity. Yet, many fundamental questions about how activated B cells decide to yield functional plasma cells have yet to be answered. Likewise, the biochemical processes underpinning the ability of plasma cells to generate and secrete large numbers of antibodies, the capacity of some plasma cell to sustain antibody secretion, presumably without interruption, for decades, and the capacity of long-lived plasma cells to avoid apoptosis despite the high-energy demands associated with sustained robust antibody synthesis and secretion each remain mysterious processes. Our objective here is to review what is currently known about these processes with an emphasis on the earliest phases of plasma cell genesis. Along the way, we will work toward developing a model that ties the biochemistry of plasma cell function and survival. The chief idea imbedded in this model is that progress toward understanding plasma cell survival mechanisms may require increased focus on the unique cell autonomous processes inherent in plasma cell differentiation and function.

中文翻译：

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浆细胞发生的生化协调

分泌抗体的浆细胞是短期和长期适应性免疫的核心组成部分。然而，关于活化的 B 细胞如何决定产生功能性浆细胞的许多基本问题尚未得到解答。同样，支持浆细胞产生和分泌大量抗体的能力的生化过程，一些浆细胞维持抗体分泌的能力，大概不中断，几十年，以及长寿浆细胞避免细胞凋亡的能力尽管与持续强大的抗体合成和分泌相关的高能量需求仍然是神秘的过程。我们的目标是回顾目前对这些过程的了解，重点是浆细胞发生的最早阶段。一路上，我们将努力开发一种将浆细胞功能和生存的生物化学联系起来的模型。该模型的主要思想是，理解浆细胞存活机制的进展可能需要更多地关注浆细胞分化和功能固有的独特细胞自主过程。