1. A single peptide-MHC complex positively selects a diverse and specific CD8 T cell repertoire.
- Author
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Wang B, Primeau TM, Myers N, Rohrs HW, Gross ML, Lybarger L, Hansen TH, and Connolly JM
- Subjects
- Animals, Cross Reactions, Cytotoxicity, Immunologic, H-2 Antigens genetics, Lymphocyte Activation, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Mice, Transgenic, Ovalbumin immunology, Protein Multimerization, Spleen cytology, Spleen immunology, Thymus Gland cytology, Thymus Gland immunology, Vesiculovirus immunology, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes immunology, H-2 Antigens immunology, Major Histocompatibility Complex immunology, Peptides immunology, T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic immunology
- Abstract
Pathogen recognition by T cells is dependent on their exquisite specificity for self-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules presenting a bound peptide. Although this specificity results from positive and negative selection of developing T cells in the thymus, the relative contribution of these two processes remains controversial. To address the relation between the selecting peptide-MHC complex and the specificity of mature T cells, we generated transgenic mice that express a single peptide-MHC class I complex. We demonstrate that positive selection of CD8 T cells in these mice results in an MHC-specific repertoire. Although selection on a single complex is peptide promiscuous, mature T cells are highly peptide specific. Thus, positive selection imparts MHC and peptide specificity on the peripheral CD8 T cell repertoire.
- Published
- 2009
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