A Germinal Center-Independent Innate-Like Memory B Cell Compartment of B1 Origin

Authors

Villavicencio, P. M., Bottermann, M., Ortiz Isuiza, M., Parikh, S. S., Warner, J. E., Alicea, A., Zhou, E., Prum, T., Naili, H., Liu, X., Weldon, S. R., Batista, F. D.

Abstract

Memory B cells (MBCs) are a critical cellular reservoir for long-term humoral immunity. MBCs display heterogeneous isotypes and surface markers and can arise through both germinal center (GC)-dependent and GC-independent extrafollicular (EF) pathways. Both the mechanisms controlling EF MBC differentiation and the identities of the B cell populations from which EF MBCs derive remain poorly understood. To capture MBC diversity, we applied a broad selection strategy followed by transcriptional profiling, identifying a subset of MBCs characterized by minimal class switching, limited somatic hypermutation, and an innate-like gene signature. Using genetic models, we demonstrated that this subset arises independently of GC responses and derives from innate B1 cells. These innate-like MBCs differentiate into antigen-specific antibody-secreting cells and confer protection against lethal viral infection. Together, our findings define a previously unrecognized arm of MBC responses, demonstrating that innate B1 cells contribute a non-redundant antibody repertoire to protective immunological memory.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 27 Jul 2026.

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