Receptor editing

Receptor editing is a process that occurs during the maturation of B cells, which are part of the adaptive immune system. This process forms part of central tolerance to attempt to change the specificity of the antigen receptor of self reactive immature B-cells, in order to rescue them from programmed cell death, called apoptosis.{{cite journal | author = Meffre, E | author2 = Wardemann, H | title = B-cell tolerance checkpoints in health and autoimmunity. | journal = Current Opinion in Immunology | volume = 20 | pages = 632–638 | year = 2008 | issue = 6 | pmid = 18848883 | doi = 10.1016/j.coi.2008.09.001 }} It is thought that 20-50% of all peripheral naive B cells have undergone receptor editing making it the most common method of removing self reactive B cells.{{cite journal |vauthors=Halverson R, Torres RM, Pelanda R | title = Receptor editing is the main mechanism of B cell tolerance toward membrane antigens | journal = Nature Immunology | volume = 5 | issue = 6| pages = 645–650 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15156139 | doi = 10.1038/ni1076 | s2cid = 20869465 }}

During maturation in the bone marrow, B cells are tested for interaction with self antigens, which is called negative selection. If the maturing B cells strongly interact with these self antigens, they undergo death by apoptosis. Negative selection is important to avoid the production of B cells that could cause autoimmune diseases. They can avoid apoptosis by modifying the sequence of light chain V and J genes (components of the antigen receptor) so that they have a different specificity and may not recognize self-antigens anymore. This process of changing the specificity of the immature B cell receptor is called receptor editing.