Semin Immunol. 2024 Mar;72:101864. doi: 10.1016/j.smim.2024.101864. Epub 2024 Jan 31.
ABSTRACT
Our current understanding of whether B cell involvement in the tumor microenvironment benefits the patient or the tumor – in distinct cancers, subcohorts and individual patients – is quite limited. Both statements are probably true in most cases: certain clonal B cell populations contribute to the antitumor response, while others steer the immune response away from the desired mechanics. To step up to a new level of understanding and managing B cell behaviors in the tumor microenvironment, we need to rationally discern these roles, which are cumulatively defined by B cell clonal functional programs, specificities of their B cell receptors, specificities and isotypes of the antibodies they produce, and their spatial interactions within the tumor environment. Comprehensive analysis of these characteristics of clonal B cell populations is now becoming feasible with the development of a whole arsenal of advanced technical approaches, which include (1) methods of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, genomics, and proteomics; (2) methods of massive identification of B cell specificities; (3) methods of deep error-free profiling of B cell receptor repertoires. Here we overview existing techniques, summarize their current application for B cells studies and propose promising future directions in advancing B cells exploration.
PMID:38301345 | DOI:10.1016/j.smim.2024.101864