Figure 1.
A wide range of experimental techniques are used in combination with computational modeling to probe the process of affinity maturation at multiple scales (from DNA to tissue).
Population dynamics of splenic germinal center B cells is probed by quantifying labeled cells over time with flow cytometry (left panes). Microdissection of cells from tissue sections combined with sequencing of the Ig receptor provides information on germline receptor usage and somatic hypermutation (center panes). Histology is supplemented with intravital multi-photon microscopy to visualize and quantify spatiotemporal dynamics (right panes).