cell
B Cell
Adaptive humoral cell linking antigen recognition, germinal centers, antibody class, and immune memory
Review layer
Last reviewed 2026-05-17
Systems teaching draft. Content is structured for education and graph expansion, with formal source tagging ready for the next review pass.
Provenance layer
External context
Curated external IDs add pathway and protein context around Atlas content. They do not update the graph automatically and they are not patient-specific interpretation.
Appears in response traces
State signature
Systems profile
System effects
Primary mapped axes from existing Atlas data.
Tissue
Organ, barrier, stromal, vascular, or local niche behavior.
Tolerance
Immune restraint, resolution, regulatory tone, or set-point control.
Chronicity
Memory, priming, fibrosis, exhaustion, remodeling, or other time-dependent drift.
Local map
Relationship field
Arrows point from the upstream source toward the receiving target. Restraint edges use a bar; association edges stay dashed because they are not causal arrows.
IL-4 promotes IgE class switching and type 2 antibody context
Read as source acts on or points toward the target.
What this relationship means
Read this as IL-4 influencing B Cell; the arrow names the direction, while the details explain the likely system domain.
Effect of source
IL-4 is the upstream signal or context.
Effect on target
B Cell is the receiving node whose behavior may shift.
Use with caution
Use this as a map-reading aid, not as diagnosis, triage, treatment guidance, or a risk score.
System effect
IL-4 influences B Cell; the axes below show which mapped systems carry that relationship.
Tissue
Organ, barrier, stromal, vascular, or local niche behavior.
Inflammation
Inflammatory alarm, recruitment, mediator release, or tissue-damaging amplification.
Metabolism
Energy allocation, glycolysis, mitochondrial strain, lipid signaling, or nutrient-sensitive behavior.
Axes are mapped cues from Atlas data, not clinical predictions.
Evidence context
Curated edge, reviewed endpoints, and mapped external anchors.
Interleukin-4 and Interleukin-13 signaling
R-HSA-6785807 - checked 2026-06-28
Graph neighborhood
Direct relationships
Arrow shows upstream source toward receiving target.
IL-4 promotes IgE class switching and type 2 antibody context
Arrow shows upstream source toward receiving target.
Germinal centers support B cell affinity maturation and memory
Arrow shows upstream source toward receiving target.
Tfh cells provide CD40L and IL-21 for B-cell class switching and affinity maturation
Arrow shows upstream source toward receiving target.
Splenic marginal-zone and follicular programs support blood-borne antigen responses
Arrow shows upstream source toward receiving target.
MALT supports IgA class switching, mucosal memory, and antigen-specific barrier defense
Network behavior
Systems Overview
B cells integrate antigen, T cell help, cytokines, and tissue context to become antibody-secreting plasma cells, memory cells, regulatory cells, or pathogenic autoreactive clones.
Lineage
Origin
HSC -> common lymphoid progenitor -> pro-B -> pre-B -> immature B -> naive B -> memory or plasma cell
Transcription factors: PAX5, EBF1, BCL6, IRF4, BLIMP1, XBP1
Lifecycle Visualizer
weeks
Central development
BCR generation and tolerance
months-years
Naive surveillance
Antigen scanning
days-weeks
Germinal center
Affinity maturation and class switching
months-years
Memory/plasma fate
Recall or antibody secretion
Activation and Suppression
Surface and Secreted Signals
Metabolic State
Programs
Acute: Activation increases proliferation, antigen presentation, and class-switch readiness.
Chronic: Persistent antigen and survival signals increase autoreactivity and ectopic lymphoid risk.
Tissue Roles
gut: Supports IgA and mucosal tolerance.
lung: Contributes to local antibody and tertiary lymphoid structures.
skin: Can participate in autoantibody and inflammatory skin disease contexts.
lymphoid: Germinal centers refine affinity and memory.
Disease Associations
Clinical Pearls
- Antibody class tells you about cytokine context, not just antigen exposure.
- IgE points toward type 2 help; IgA points toward mucosal barrier programming.
- B cells also present antigen and regulate cytokine tone.