Functional subclasses of T lymphocytes bearing different Ly antigens I. The generation of functionally distinct T-cell subclasses is a differentiative process independent of antigen Journal Article

  


Authors: Cantor, H.; Boyse, E. A.
Article Title: Functional subclasses of T lymphocytes bearing different Ly antigens I. The generation of functionally distinct T-cell subclasses is a differentiative process independent of antigen
Abstract: T lymphocytes mediate many immunologic functions. For example, they generate cytotoxic responses to alloantigens (1, 2), exert helper (3) and suppressor (4) effects on the production of antibody, and initiate graft-vs.-host responses (5). We do not know whether this diversity of function reflects a functional heterogeneity of T lymphocytes existing before antigen stimulation. If this were the case, then the response of a T-cell clone to stimulation by antigen would be limited to the particular immune function for which it had already been programmed during the differentiation of that T cell. Alternatively, antigen stimulation of a single T cell may induce the formation of progeny that can mediate the complete range of T-dependent responses. These alternatives are illustrated in Fig. 1. One can pose the question in this way: is it possible to separate subclasses of T cells from nonimmune animals that are already determined to express, respectively, helper activity or cytotoxic activity before they encounter antigen? A direct approach to this question could be based upon the use of alloantisera that would define cell surface components expressed selectively on one or another T-cell subclass. Genes coding for such components would most likely be expressed exclusively in T cells. Shiku and his colleagues observed that effector killer cells, ie. cells that have already responded to antigen, express a distinctive profile of Ly antigens (10). In the study reported here, we have extended the use of the Ly systems to attack the fundamental question posed above, namely whether or not the generation of functional T-cell diversity precedes the encounter with antigen. We find that subclasses of peripheral T cells with different immunological functions and biological characteristics, distinguishable by expression of different Ly alloantigens, pre-exist in mice that have not been immunized. This indicates that diversification of T-cell function, resulting in cells committed to express either helper or killer activity, is a differentiative process that has taken place before T cells meet antigen and that these diverse effector cells are derived from different maturational lines of T cells.
Keywords: mouse; immunity; populations; region; identity; invitro; b lymphocytes; h-2 complex; alloantigens; killer
Journal Title: Journal of Immunology
Volume: 176
Issue: 7
ISSN: 0022-1767
Publisher: The American Association of Immunologists, Inc  
Date Published: 2006-04-01
Start Page: 3861
End Page: 3874
Language: English
ACCESSION: WOS:000238769300006
PROVIDER: wos
Notes: Reproduced from The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1975, 141: 1376–1389 - Article - "Source: Wos"