BPTF is essential for vaccine-induced germinal center B cell responses

B cell progression through the GC is tightly regulated and the molecular determinants that modulate GC B cell proliferation and survival are still under investigation.

Here, we use a conditional deletion mouse model to demonstrate that bromodomain PHD finger transcription factor (BPTF), a subunit of the nucleosome remodeling factor (NURF) chromatin remodeling complex, is required for robust GC B cell responses following vaccination. In GC B cells, Bptf loss induces a stress-like transcriptional profile and a shift towards PC identity-defining transcriptional programing, although this does not lead to accumulation of functional PCs.