Tolerance sensitivity of immature-stage B cells: can developmentally regulated B cell antigen receptor (BCR) signal transduction play a role?

During development, B lymphocytes pass through a window in which self-reactive cells are eliminated. Elimination at this early stage of development occurs because immature-stage B cells are more sensitive to tolerance induction and negative selection than are mature-stage B cells. In this discussion, the author presents the arguments leading to the conclusion that the molecular basis for this differential sensitivity to negative selection is due to intrinsic differences in Ag receptor signal transduction between immature and mature B cells.