Summary
Affinity maturation also selects for low self-association (1). This was determined by observing how the affinity of antibodies elicited by mice changed following exposure to antigens nearly identical to proteins in the mouse proteome (in this case, lysozyme). Affinity to the new antigen did not change during affinity maturation; instead, affinity to the self-antigen decreased drastically.
1.
Burnett DL, Schofield P, Langley DB, Jackson J, Bourne K, Wilson E, et al. Conformational diversity facilitates antibody mutation trajectories and discrimination between foreign and self-antigens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2020;117(36):22341–50. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2005102117