Germinal centers

Germinal centers in secondary lymphoid tissues are sites of intense B-cell proliferation, selection, maturation, and death during antibody responses. Germinal centers form around follicular dendritic cell networks when activated B cells migrate into lymphoid follicles. They can be divided by morphology into the dark zone, which is rich in proliferating B lymphocytes, and a light zone, which contains FDCs and centrocytes.