In vitro induction of human germinal centre B-cells

However, due to their lymphoid tissue localization, experimental manipulation of human germinal centre B-cells has proven difficult, in part due to a lack of an effective method to induce these cells 2. Here we describe a simple in vitro method, modelling T-cell derived signalling, that allows the conversion of human naive B-cells into in vitro BCL6+ GCB-cells (iGCB).

Through side-by-side proteomic and transcriptional single cell analysis of iGCB and GCB from human tonsils, we demonstrate that iGCB-cells have comparable levels of the surface markers, transcription factors, DNA damage and repair molecules, surface glycosylation and trafficking molecules that define human GCB-cells. Using this system, we demonstrate both the signals critical for human GCB formation and a range of interventions that block GCB induction.