The process in which a precursor cell type acquires the specialized features of a pre-B cell. Pre-B cells follow the pro-B cell stage of immature B cell differentiation and undergo rearrangement of heavy chain V, D, and J gene segments. [ https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=bn%3A0781735149 GOC:jal ]
Synonyms: pre-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'.