What a rheumatologist needs to know about T cell receptor structure and function.

By understanding normal immune response, it has been possible to develop therapeutic strategies toward the treatment of autoimmune disease. The association of autoimmune disease with the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II gene products suggests that the inductive events in which the putative autoantigen is presented on the surface of antigen presenting cells in the context of the MHC class II gene products and is recognized by CD4(+) helper or inducer T cells form an interesting target for immunotherapeutic intervention. By understanding the structure/function relationships of T cell receptors for antigen, it might be possible to develop novel immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. Studies described below review recent progress in understanding the components of the ternary complex and suggest possible areas of immunotherapeutic intervention.