Germinal Center Maturation
Gene co-expression module in CD19⁺ B cells
| Category | B cell maturation |
|---|---|
| Genes | 14 |
| Annotation certainty | 3 of 5 |
| Annotation consistency | 5 of 14 genes have a known function matching the annotation |
Why this annotation
Hub genes include POU2AF1 (OBF-1, a B-cell transcriptional coactivator essential for germinal center formation), DTX1 (Deltex/Notch pathway, regulates B-cell differentiation), BCL7A (associated with germinal center B-cell lymphomas), SUSD3 (B-cell marker), ITGAE (CD103, tissue-resident integrin). NEIL1 and TERF2 relate to DNA repair/telomere maintenance consistent with proliferating/maturing GC B cells. The combination of POU2AF1, DTX1, BCL7A points to a B-cell maturation/germinal center differentiation program rather than contamination. Inflammation-up signature in UC supports active B-cell maturation in inflamed mucosa. Neighbor M75 shares somatic hypermutation/DNA-repair machinery (OGG1, HMCES, RFC1) characteristic of germinal center B cells, reinforcing a maturation theme.
Genes
BCAS4, BCL7A, CCDC69, DCK, DTX1, ITGAE, LSM10, NEIL1, POU2AF1, SEC14L1, SUSD3, TCEA1, TERF2, UBE2J1
Most correlated modules
- Somatic Hypermutation · correlation 0.93
- Dark-zone GC B-cell · correlation 0.89
- Chromatin Regulation · correlation 0.87
- B-cell activation signaling · correlation 0.84
- Germinal center B-cell · correlation 0.83
- Actin cytoskeleton remodeling · correlation 0.82
- Naive B-cell identity · correlation 0.78
- B-cell signaling regulators · correlation 0.70
Module annotations were drafted by a large language model from the module's genes, then reviewed and approved by a domain expert. See sources & licences.