B- CELL ACTIVATION

• HOW DOES B-CELL ACTIVATION OCCUR?

  1. Antigens in blood collide with complementary antibody on B cell
  2. B cell takes in antigen by endocytosis and presents it on cell-surface membrane
  3. When B cell collides with T helper cell receptor this activates the B cell to go through clonal expansion and differentiation (clonal selection)
  4. B cells undergo mitosis
  5. Creates large numbers of cells which differentiate into plasma cells/ B memory cells
• WHAT DO PLASMA CELLS DO?

  make antibodies
• WHAT DO B MEMORY CELLS DO?

  can divide rapidly into plasma cells when re-infected with the same pathogen (allowing it to produce larger numbers of antibodies more rapidly)