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Quantitative aspects of T‐cell recognition: from within the antigen‐presenting cell to within the T cell
Author(s) -
Bongrand Pierre,
Malissen Bernard
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-1878(199805)20:5<412::aid-bies8>3.0.co;2-p
Subject(s) - major histocompatibility complex , t cell , context (archaeology) , biology , antigen , antigen presenting cell , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , immunology , mhc restriction , mhc class i , immune system , genetics , paleontology
T lymphocytes circulate continually throughout the peripheral lymphoid organs, where they scrutinize the surface of cells to detect the presence of nonself protein fragments. During the last years, many facets of T‐cell function have been unravelled. After being bound by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, peptides derived from nonself as well as from self proteins are delivered to the cell surface. A few copies of a nonself peptide “presented” at the cell surface in the context of an MHC molecule can be detected by specific T cells, and suffice to trigger T‐cell activation. This paper reviews the requirements imposed on T cells to fulfill this exquisite sensitivity. BioEssays 20 :412–422, 1998.© 1998 John Wiley & Sons Inc.