The process in which a B cell in the spleen acquires the specialized features of a marginal zone B cell. Marginal zone B cells are localized in a distinct anatomical region of the spleen that represents the major antigen-filtering and scavenging area (by specialized macrophages resident there). It appears that they are preselected to express a BCR repertoire similar to B-1 B cells, biased toward bacterial cell wall constituents and senescent self-components (such as oxidized LDL). [ GOC:jal https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=bn%3A0781735149 ]
Synonyms: marginal zone B lymphocyte differentiation marginal zone B-cell differentiation marginal zone B-lymphocyte differentiation
Term information
Note that immunologists typically use the word 'development' to refer to cells of B or T cell lineages undergoing the process that GO describes as 'cell differentiation'.