Webb S, Morris C, Sprent J
Department of Immunology, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California 92037.
Cell. 1990 Dec 21;63(6):1249-56. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90420-j.
The mechanism by which T lymphocytes are tolerized to self or foreign antigens is still controversial. Clonal deletion is the major mechanism of tolerance for immature thymocytes; for mature T cells, tolerance is considered to reflect anergy rather than deletion, and to be a consequence of defective presentation of antigen. This paper documents a novel form of tolerance resulting when mature T cells encounter antigen in immunogenic form. Evidence is presented that exposure of mature T cells to Mlsa antigens in vivo leads to specific tolerance and disappearance of Mlsa-reactive V beta 6+ T cells. Surprisingly, the clonal elimination of V beta 6+ cells is preceded by marked expansion of these cells. Thus, tolerance induction can be the end result of a powerful immune response. These data raise important questions concerning the relationship of tolerance and memory.
T淋巴细胞对自身或外来抗原产生耐受的机制仍存在争议。克隆清除是未成熟胸腺细胞耐受的主要机制；对于成熟T细胞，耐受被认为反映的是无反应性而非细胞清除，并且是抗原呈递缺陷的结果。本文记录了成熟T细胞以免疫原形式遇到抗原时产生的一种新型耐受形式。有证据表明，成熟T细胞在体内暴露于Mlsa抗原会导致特异性耐受以及Mlsa反应性Vβ6 + T细胞消失。令人惊讶的是，Vβ6 +细胞的克隆清除之前这些细胞会显著扩增。因此，耐受诱导可能是强大免疫反应的最终结果。这些数据提出了有关耐受与记忆关系的重要问题。
