The one signal theory of B cell activation revisited: A role for surface immunoglobulin in regulating T‐independent antibody responses?

Abstract

Early theories of antibody production by B cells achieved considerable success in predicting B cell behaviour with simple deductive models. One such model, the one signal theory, postulated that the antigen receptor on B cells played only a passive non‐signalling role in focusing non‐specific activating signals to the B cell surface. This prediction is at least partially consistent with recent discoveries concerning the helper signals delivered to B cells by T cells. Here, we re‐examine the foundation of this theoretical prediction with the benefit of recent information. The experimental basis for the theory was a study of B cell activation by LPS and, in particular, the interpretation of a ..