Cohn M
Conceptual Immunology Group, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, California 92186-5800, USA.
Cell Immunol. 1997 Nov 1;181(2):103-8. doi: 10.1006/cimm.1997.1212.
The necessity to make a Self(S)-NonSelf(NS) discrimination is the evolutionary selection pressure for specificity of the immune response. A new definition of paratopic specificity, which is heuristic and generalizable, can be derived from an understanding of this selection pressure. Specificity of the paratope is defined by a Specificity Constant, K, which is the probability that a functional change in recognition will be anti-Self. In an antigen-unselected population, K is the proportion of cells that are anti-Self. This definition is unique in that it is derived from the function upon which evolution selects, namely the effector output. This paper describes how the concept of a Specificity Constant was derived, how it is estimated, what it can be used to explain, and how it impacts on repertoire and effectiveness of response.
进行自我（S）-非自我（NS）区分的必要性是免疫反应特异性的进化选择压力。从对这种选择压力的理解中，可以得出一种启发式且可推广的对位特异性新定义。互补位的特异性由特异性常数K定义，K是识别功能变化为抗自我的概率。在未经过抗原选择的群体中，K是抗自我细胞的比例。这个定义的独特之处在于它源自进化所选择的功能，即效应器输出。本文描述了特异性常数的概念是如何推导出来的、如何进行估计、它可用于解释什么以及它如何影响反应库和反应的有效性。
