Work

The role of peptides in thymic positive selection of class II major histocompatibility complex-restricted T cells

Year: 1998

Type: article

Abstract: A thymic epithelial cell line transfected with I-Ek was used in reaggregate cultures to study the role of peptides in positive selection of T cell receptor transgenic thymocytes. In this system, positive selection of CD4 SP cells occurred only after the addition of exogenous peptide. Analysis of antigen analogs indicated an inverse relationship between the antigenicity for peripheral T cells and the concentration of peptide required for positive selection. These data are most consistent with an avidity (rather than an affinity) model of positive selection, in which ligand density and the affinity of T cell receptor act in concert to determine the fate of developing thymocytes.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.95.7.3804

Authors: Rongfang Wang, Andrew Nelson, Kazuhiko Kimachi, Howard M. Grey, Andrew G. Farr

Institutions: La Jolla Institute for Immunology, University of Washington, Kirin (Japan), Kirin Brewery Company, Limited (Japan)

Language: English

Topic: T-cell and B-cell Immunology

Subfield: Immunology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases