What are plasma cells?

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Multiple Choice

What are plasma cells?

Plasma cells are the mature antibody-secreting descendants of B lymphocytes. After a B cell binds its specific antigen and receives help from T helper cells, it proliferates and differentiates into plasma cells, which produce large amounts of immunoglobulins and drive humoral immunity. They are typically located in bone marrow and secondary lymphoid tissues, and their abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum gives them a basophilic cytoplasm with an eccentric nucleus. The other cell types are different: T helper cells assist B cells but are not antibody factories; natural killer cells are cytotoxic innate lymphocytes; and monocytes are precursors to macrophages.

Plasma cells are the mature antibody-secreting descendants of B lymphocytes. After a B cell binds its specific antigen and receives help from T helper cells, it proliferates and differentiates into plasma cells, which produce large amounts of immunoglobulins and drive humoral immunity. They are typically located in bone marrow and secondary lymphoid tissues, and their abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum gives them a basophilic cytoplasm with an eccentric nucleus. The other cell types are different: T helper cells assist B cells but are not antibody factories; natural killer cells are cytotoxic innate lymphocytes; and monocytes are precursors to macrophages.

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