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The Major Histocompatibility Complex: Influence on Immune Reactivity and T-Lymphocyte Activation

1977; Wiley; Volume: 6; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1365-3083.1977.tb02150.x

1365-3083

J. F. A. P. Miller, Mathew A. Vadas,

T-cell and B-cell Immunology

The genetic region that influences graft rejection in animals and man is known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The gene products of this complex (15) exert a profound influence on the activation of T lymphocytes. At least three effects of the MHC on T cells deserve special mention. First, the frequency of T lymphocytes that respond to cell surface alloantigens coded by the MHC is 100 to 1000 times greater than the frequency of T cells that respond to other antigens (27, 35). Second, the extent of a T‐cell response to certain antigens is controlled by genes that have been mapped in the I region of the MHC (3). Third, it has recently been shown that the MHC imposes constraints on the activities of sensitized T cells (7). The aim of this article is to review briefly some of the recent work performed in mice which allows the formulation of a model that may be used to explain tentatively the relationship between MHC gene products, T‐lymphocyte activation, and immune reactivity.