Discrimination between self and non-self in humoral immunity is mediated in part by elimination or inactivation of self-reactive B-cell clones. This type of repertoire censoring requires that self-reactive B cells make a choice between these and alternative cellular fates. The details of this developmental decision-making and the steps where it is prone to go awry in autoimmunity have yet to be untangled, but genetic analysis appears likely to lead the way.
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