scholarly journals The major histocompatibility complex determines susceptibility to cytotoxic T cells directed against minor histocompatibility antigens.

1975 ◽  
Vol 142 (6) ◽  
pp. 1349-1364 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Bevan

Cytotoxic cells were generated by immunizing one strain of mouse with cells from an allogeneic strain which carries the same H-2 region. The effector cells assayed in a 4 h 51Cr release assay were shown to be T cells and indistinguishable, except in specificity, from cytotoxic T cells directed at H-2 alloantigens. Although the genetic differences between responder and stimulator cells responsible for the immunization did not code in H-2, the H-2 complex did restrict susceptibility of target cells. For example, BALB.B cytotoxic cells (H-2b) immunized against and capable of lysing C57BL/6 cells (H-2b) would not lyse B6.C/H-2d target cells. C57BL/6 and B6.C/H-2d are congenic and differ in the H-2 region. Two hypotheses are considered to explain the H-2 restriction of susceptibility to cytotoxic T cells generated by an H-2 identical alloimmunization. (a) The dual (self) recognition hypothesis states that the cytotoxic cell has two recognition units, one for H-2-coded structures and another clonally restricted receptor for the minor alloantigen. (b) The interaction antigen hypothesis states that all the surface alloantigenic determinants recognized by cytotoxic T cells are the result of interaction between H-2- and non-H-2-coded gene products. Two lines of evidence, one with F1 effector cells and the other a cold target competition experiment, are presented which argue strongly in favor of the interaction antigen hypothesis. The regions of H-2 required to be histocompatible were mapped to the D region and to the left of IC, probably the K region. These results, and recent work on the response to virus-infected and TNP-modified syngeneic cells, suggest that cytotoxic cells are restricted in specificity to preferentially recognizing alterations in structures that are coded in the major histocompatibility complex.

2000 ◽  
Vol 191 (5) ◽  
pp. 805-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard Obst ◽  
Nikolai Netuschil ◽  
Karsten Klopfer ◽  
Stefan Stevanović ◽  
Hans-Georg Rammensee

By analyzing T cell responses against foreign major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules loaded with peptide libraries and defined self- and viral peptides, we demonstrate a profound influence of self-MHC molecules on the repertoire of alloreactive T cells: the closer the foreign MHC molecule is related to the T cell's MHC, the higher is the proportion of peptide-specific, alloreactive (“allorestricted”) T cells versus T cells recognizing the foreign MHC molecule without regard to the peptide in the groove. Thus, the peptide repertoire of alloreactive T cells must be influenced by self-MHC molecules during positive or negative thymic selection or peripheral survival, much like the repertoire of the self-restricted T cells. In consequence, allorestricted, peptide-specific T cells (that are of interest for clinical applications) are easier to obtain if T cells and target cells express related MHC molecules.


2002 ◽  
Vol 196 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo-Chang Fan ◽  
Ram Raj Singh

Current treatments for autoantibody-mediated diseases, such as lupus, can cause nonspecific immune suppression. In this paper, we used a bioinformatic approach to identify major histocompatibility complex class I–binding epitopes in the heavy chain variable region of anti-DNA antibodies from lupus-prone (NZB/NZW F1) mice. Vaccination of such mice with plasmid DNA vectors encoding these epitopes induced CD8+ T cells that killed anti-DNA antibody-producing B cells, reduced serum anti-DNA antibody levels, retarded the development of nephritis, and improved survival. Vaccine-mediated induction of anti-VH cytotoxic T lymphocytes that ablate autoreactive B cells represents a novel approach to treat autoantibody-mediated diseases.


1975 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
pp. 1348-1364 ◽  
Author(s):  
G M Shearer ◽  
T G Rehn ◽  
C A Garbarino

Splenic lymphocytes from four C57BL/10 congenic resistant mouse strains were sensitized in vitro with trinitrophenyl (TNP)-modified autologous spleen cellsmthe effector cells generated were incubated with 51-Cr-labeled unmodified or TNP-modified spleen or tumor target cells, and the percentage of specific lympholysis determined. The results obtained using syngeneic-, congenic-, recombinante, and allogeneic-modified target cells indicated that TNP modification of the target cells was a necessary but insufficient requirement for lympholysis. Intra-H-2 homology either between modified stimulating cells and modified target cells or between responding lymphocytes and modified target cells was also important in the specificity for lysis. Homology at the K serological region or at K plus I-A in the B10.A and B10BR strains, and at either the D serological region or at some other region (possibly K) in the B10.D2 and C57BL/10 strains were shown to be necessary in order to detect lympholysis. Experiments using (B10itimes C57BL/10)F1 responding lymphocytes sensitized and assayed with TNP-modified parental cells indicated that the homology required for lympholysis was between modified stimulating and modified target cellsmthe possibility is raised that histocompatibility antigens may serve in the autologous system as cell surface components which are modified by viruses or autoimmune complexes to form cell-bound modified-self antigens, which are particularly suited for cell-mediated immune reactions. Evidence is presented suggesting that H-2-linked Ir genes are expressed in the TNP-modified autologous cytotoxic system. These findings imply that the major histocompatibility complex can be functionally involved both in the response potential to and in the formation of new antigenic determinants involving modified-self components.


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