Mitogen
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A mitogen is a chemical, usually some form of a protein that encourages a cell to commence cell division, triggering mitosis.
For example, plasma B cells can enter mitosis when they encounter an antigen matching their immunoglobulin. Mitogens trigger signal transduction pathways in which mitogen-activated protein kinase is involved, leading to mitosis.
Mitogens are often collectively known as somatomedins. Mitogens also induce the activity of the COX-2 enzyme.
Most commonly used mitogens in clinical laboratory medicine: concanavalin A, lipopolysaccharide, and pokeweed mitogen.
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examples: PHA and conA are mitogens of T cells, LPS is a mitogen of B cells and PWM is a mitogen of T and B cells.
Plasma B cells are terminally differentiated and therefore cannot undergo mitosis. Memory B cells can proliferate to produce more memory cells or plasma B cells. This is how the mitogen works, by inducing mitosis in B cells to cause them to divide, with some becoming plasma.
