Mls determinants and anti-Mls receptors.

We review evidence from this laboratory that T cell recognition of Mlsa determinants is not controlled solely by the alpha-beta T cell receptor (TcR) molecule. We propose a model in which Mlsa recognition reflects a receptor-ligand interaction between two sets of complementary accessory molecules, one molecule (Mlsa) being expressed on B cells and the other (the anti-Mlsa receptor) on T cells; this interaction augments recognition of self class II molecules by the TcR. The biological role of Mls molecules might be to facilitate physiological T-B interaction.