The repertoire of T cells shaped by a single MHC/peptide ligand

Leszek Ignatowicz, John Kappler, Philippa Marrack

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

388 Scopus citations

Abstract

Although the thymus produces many immature thymocytes, few of these cells mature. Positive selection has been thought to limit thymocyte development. In thymuses expressing a single MHC/peptide combination, however, surprisingly large numbers of thymocytes are selected to mature. Many of these react with the selecting MHC, bound to other self-peptides. Therefore, the number of thymocytes that mature is limited by the fact that positively selected cells die because they react too well with MHC bound to self- peptides that are not identical to those involved in positive selection. T cells that mature in thymuses expressing a single MHC/peptide ligand react frequently with foreign MHC, suggesting that the repertoire of αβ receptors may be more biased toward reaction with MHC than was previously thought.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)521-529
Number of pages9
JournalCell
Volume84
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 23 1996
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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