IgM Memory Cells: First Responders in Malaria

Abstract

Following the fate of antigen-specific memory B cells has been difficult. In this issue of Immunity, Krishnamurty et al. (2016) use a novel B cell tetramer to define Plasmodium-specific memory B cells in parasite-infected mice and demonstrate that after re-infection, somatically mutated IgM(+) memory B cells function as first responders by rapidly differentiating into T-cell-dependent plasmablasts and T-cell-independent plasma cells.