Lafon M
Unité de neurovirologie et régénération du système nerveux, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Rev Med Interne. 2000 Aug;21(8):713-6. doi: 10.1016/S0248-8663(00)80034-X.
Viral superantigens bind several alleles and isotypes belonging to the MHC class II and subsequently activate particular T cell families via the variable portion of the beta chain of TCR. As a result, a superantigen bridges MHC and TCR molecules, leading to activation of T and B cells. The T expansion of various TCR V beta subsets is triggered on the basis of their V beta specificity, but not on their antigenic specificity. The best known superantigens are bacterial endotoxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus. However, viruses such as mouse mammary tumor or rabies viruses encode superantigens too. The ability of superantigens to break the barriers of MHC restriction and to activate large numbers of T and B cells has led to the hypothesis that superantigens may activate autoreactive T and B cells to initiate or worsen autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or psoriasis.
病毒超抗原可结合多种属于MHC II类的等位基因和同种型，并随后通过TCRβ链的可变部分激活特定的T细胞家族。因此，超抗原连接MHC和TCR分子，导致T细胞和B细胞激活。各种TCR Vβ亚群的T细胞扩增是基于其Vβ特异性触发的，而非其抗原特异性。最知名的超抗原是金黄色葡萄球菌产生的细菌内毒素。然而，诸如小鼠乳腺肿瘤病毒或狂犬病病毒等病毒也编码超抗原。超抗原打破MHC限制屏障并激活大量T细胞和B细胞的能力引发了这样一种假说，即超抗原可能激活自身反应性T细胞和B细胞，从而引发或加重自身免疫性疾病，如糖尿病、多发性硬化症或银屑病。
