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B cell
B cellnouna type of lymphocyte, developed in bone marrow, that circulates in the blood and lymph and, upon encountering a particular foreign antigen, differentiates into a clone of plasma cells that secrete a specific antibody and a clone of memory cells that make the antibody on subsequent encounters.
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B-cell
B cell
Americannoun
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Also called B lymphocyte. a type of lymphocyte, developed in bone marrow, that circulates in the blood and lymph and, upon encountering a particular foreign antigen, differentiates into a clone of plasma cells that secrete a specific antibody and a clone of memory cells that make the antibody on subsequent encounters.
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Also called beta cell. a cell in the islet of Langerhans that produces and secretes insulin.
noun
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Any of the lymphocytes that develop into plasma cells in the presence of a specific antigen. The plasma cells produce antibodies that attack or neutralize the antigen in what is called the humoral immune response. B cells mature in the bone marrow before being released into the blood.
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Also called B lymphocyte
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Compare T cell
Etymology
Origin of B cell
1970–75; B cell ( def. 1 ) perhaps B(one-derived) ; B cell ( def. 2 ) B(ursa of Langerhans-derived)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Using a standard booster approach in mice, both vaccine types produced similar antiviral T cell and antibody-producing B cell responses.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 17, 2026
That would mean priming, shepherding, and polishing multiple B cell lineages.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 1, 2024
In a 2022 Science paper, Schief and colleagues reported that 97% of the 36 people who received the vaccine developed the B cell antibody gene mutations needed to progress toward becoming broadly neutralizing.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 1, 2024
This makes CD20 an attractive target for monoclonal antibody therapies which have been used to treat a variety of B-cell lymphomas, including follicular lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, diffuse large B cell lymphomas and high-grade B-cell lymphomas.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2023
A cell whose resistance becomes greater as the battery power becomes greater, and vice versa, I call an "L B cell" signifying Like the Battery power.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 492, June 6, 1885 by Various
His family faced "immeasurable stress" as Ethan joined a clinical trial at Bristol Royal Hospital Children for patients with B-cell nHL who had not responded to treatment or had relapsed.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Strong results for a drug combination including Epkinly as a second-line treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma support confidence in its potential to move to the first line of therapy, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
The researchers found that the KLHL6 protein breaks down the B-cell receptor and demonstrated that certain mutations lead to an increase in the number of these receptors.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2024
The recipient, Mr Neander, a grandfather-of-three in his early 60s, had previously been diagnosed with a blood cancer known as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
From BBC ● May 6, 2024
In roughly 30% of patients with aggressive B-cell lymphoma, the disease relapses.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2024
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