MHC restriction is imposed on a diverse T cell receptor repertoire by CD4 and CD8 co-receptors during thymic selection

• Autores: François van Laethem, Anastasia N. Tikhonova, Alfred Singer
• Localización: Trends in immunology, ISSN 1471-4906, Vol. 33, Nº. 9, 2012, págs. 437-441
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Mature alfa beta T cells recognize foreign antigenic peptides presented by MHC molecules but do not recognize native antigenic proteins; features known as MHC restriction. How MHC restriction is imposed on alfa beta T cells has intrigued immunologists for several decades. One model proposes that germline-encoded elements in the T cell receptor (TCR) variable regions are evolutionarily conserved to only recognize MHC. However, we propose an alternative model that posits that MHC restriction is imposed by CD4 and CD8 co-receptors during thymic selection. Thus, we think that TCRs are structurally able to recognize a huge diversity of ligands but only TCRs with MHC specificity survive thymic selection.